The End of a Journey
by Rorschach91
Summary: This is what I hope happens in S6. For those of you who've read this I added a little bit of filler. I've also done a little revamping of older chapters so read through the story if you want. B/B
1. The Doubt about the Date

Hey Guys, so I decided to condense the scenes in chronological order, so even though THIS IS THE NEW CHAPTER, I'm putting it first because it predates the earlier one, Heartbreak in the Hoover Building. I will probably be doing this again, because i don't have all the scenes typed up yet, so don't be surprised if the new chapters are put before older ones. Again, these are JUST SCENES, a series of one-shots that tie in together to make a story, they just need filler, which I am not good at. So anyone looking to partner up with me please let me know, I want to turn these babies into an actual story. So, peruse this one and let me know what you guys think.

So, for a little background on this, Booth comes back with Hannah. Of course, Brennan is heartbroken and doesn't seem to want to hang out with Booth, because of the pain. However, Brennan soon meets this good looking, successful economics professor, Grant Wylde (portrayed by Bailey Chase), who is originally from Austin, TX, but moved to Washington, DC to advance his career. Eventually, they become serious and Booth, still not completely over Brennan (although he won't admit that to himself), displays classic signs of jealousy (sorta like Sully 2.0). Then, Grant asks Brennan to move back to Texas with him and Brennan, thinking she has lost Booth forever, agrees to go. Oh and for those who are curious, Brennan has secured a job in Austin, heading up the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

This scene picks up right after a session with Sweets, in which he has determined them incapable of working together.

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! the characters and story lines of Bones belong to FOX, not me. Except for Grant, Grant is mine. So, (drumroll please) on with the scene

* * *

[Booth seemed annoyed, no scratch that he was annoyed, really annoyed. Bones didn't even know this guy, hadn't even seen him before she accepts an invitation to dinner from him and at a crime scene none-the-less. This guy, Dr. Grant Wylde, professor of economic theory at Georgetown University, seriously, what kind of name was Grant. Might as well name a kid "permit" or "allow". This was a bad idea. He can feel it in his uh…bones.]

[He sees that the blinds are drawn in her office and the door is closed; thinking that she's probably indecent at the moment, he decides to knock gently on the door to make its ok for him to come in]

[Knock, knock]

"Hey ah, hey Bones. Its me can I, uh, come in for a second. There's something I have to talk to you about."

"Uh, sure Booth" (she says through the door) "just a second…Okay you can come in now."

(He has his eyes to the ground as he's entering the office as to make sure he doesn't see anything he shouldn't)

"Kay, Bones, there's something we really need to…Mary Mother of God!" (He said when he had finally lifted his eyes from the floor)

[There she was in the center of the room, donned in a black, short-sleeved, shirred v-neck dress that fit to her body perfectly and stopped mid thigh, showing off just the right amount of her long, thin, delicate legs. It contrasted her soft, porcelain skin. Her mocha-colored hair fell down in waves, framing her face perfectly. And that was the word that came to his mind as he looked at her, "perfect"]

"What" (Brennan said, surprised by his outburst)"…you don't like it?"

"Uh, no, no Bones, you look…"(he looks at her with a lustful and intimidated look; he clears his throat) "um fetching."

(She walks over to where he's standing in order to grab her clutch from her desk; they're standing mere inches apart when she turn around and says)

"You know, if, if you want to buy this dress for Hannah, I can tell you where I got it" (she says timidly)

[He's still caught in a stare, looking at her cerulean blue eyes when he hears the sentence that she uttered.]

"Uh, look…I"

[Suddenly Cam, comes in to the office, unaware the tense moment that was transpiring there]

"Oh thank god I caught you before you did something stupid!"

"What! No, we, we weren't…No. Uh…"

"Um, I was taking about Dr. Wylde. What did you think I meant?" (Cam says with a mischievous grin)

"Nothing" (Booth says embarrassed)

"Cam, what about Dr. Wylde?"

"There's something you should know."

[Once they are all gathered in Cam's office, Cam pulls up a video]

"It seems that Dr. Wylde has had some shady acquaintances in the past."

[Cam streams the video; it's of Grant giving a speech at Georgetown at a campaign rally for city councilman, Avery Carter]

"So what," (Brennan says with a touch of annoyance) "you don't want me going out with him because he's a Republican?"

"Hey, wait a second" (Booth says as recognition dawns across his features) "isn't Councilman Carter that one who got busted for taking incentives from the chemical companies in exchange for looking the other way when they dumped into the Potomac?"

"Yep, he's in jail now. Bastard only got three years." (Cam says with a feeling that justice was not properly served)

"So! I don't see what this has to with Grant."

"Grant was Carter's chief economic advisor. He might have known about it. Actually, he was being investigated by the police until they dropped the charges against him." (Cam informs her friend with a sympathetically warning tone)

"Well, there you go. Just because Grant knew a corrupt politician doesn't mean that he himself was corrupt. The police must have had some reason to drop the charges."

"Just because the police didn't find anything doesn't mean he's clean, Bones."

"You know, this really isn't any of your business" (she says to Booth) "or yours" (this time directed at Cam). "Do I tell either of you who you can or can't date!" (She looks at Booth when she says that)

[Brennan turns to walk away when all of a sudden Booth pipes up]

"We just…we don't want you to walk into something without being prepared, Bones. We just...we want you to be safe."

"No. There's a difference between wanting me to be safe and not trusting me to make my own decisions. You don't think I can take care of myself, you never have, either of you!"

[She makes it to the door before turning her head toward Booth and giving a curt]

"Don't wait up!"

[She storms of in a beautiful frenzy; what right did they have to police her private life. As much as she had wanted to, did she say a word when Booth had brought home his fake Barbie doll skank of a girlfriend?]

[Back in Cam's office, Cam and Booth are left speechless]

"Well, I tried. And you know what, she's right. She's a big girl; she'll handle herself."

"I don't have a good feeling about this guy, Cam. There's something…off about him."

[Cam sighs]

"Seeley, I'm pretty sure that the only thing **you** find off about this guy is that Brennan's going out on a date with him right now and not with you."

[Cam walks off into the main forensics area; leaving Booth to ponder what she just said]

[Later at the classy French bistro that Grant was treating Brennan to for the night]

[Grant could sense something was on Brennan's mind. He'd been itching to ask her all evening, but didn't want it to get in the way of them having a good time. But, apparently this thing, whatever she was thinking about was bothering her so, he decided to finally ask]

"Penny for your thoughts."

"What…"(Brennan said shocked out of her silent reverie) "oh, sorry what did you say?"

"I said "penny for your thoughts"."

"That's absurd; you can't buy someone's thoughts."

"It's an expression" (Grant says with an endearing laugh). "It's just a more _colorful_ way of asking what you're thinking about."

"Oh" (she says with a nervous laugh) "sorry. It's nothing, really."

"Well, for nothing you are certainly focusing on it a lot, you were distant all through the appetizer."

"I'm sorry it's just…my friends can be such 'budinskis' when they want to be."

"Hm…I didn't know you knew that phrase."

"I looked it up on urban dictionary."

(Grant heartily laughs) "Well, how are your friends 'budinskis' might I ask?"

"They…"(Brennan started unsure of whether to tell him the extent of Booth and Cam's distrust. She sighs) "looked into your past. They found out that you were involved with Councilman Avery Carter. I'm sorry" (she says at Grant's subtly annoyed expression)

"No, its okay, its not your fault. And you know, they have reason to be suspicious, but I can honestly tell you that those charges were unfounded."

"Good. I never thought that they were based on any real fact, but could you just explain to me so I can put them at ease."

"Surely, so…when Avery and I first met, I was a grad student at NYU where he was also a political philosophy major. We became good friends and…when I moved to DC a few years later, he asked me if I would like to get involved in his campaign for city councilman. Me being new to the city and thankful that I already had a friend here gladly accepted."

"Avery gave me a job as his chief economic adviser and financial planner, however, when SOCMA (that's Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates for anyone who's wondering) lobbyists came a knocking, I was cast to the wayside. I advised Avery against getting in bed with them, but he was just too eager to get in good with the corporate world in order to advance his career. Well, you can imagine his surprise and my **lack** of such when the police came to our doors. The charges against me were dropped because they knew I wasn't guilty of anything, I thought Avery had taken my advise and stayed away from those corporate sharks. It was more so just to show the public that they were looking into all possible avenues, which I totally understand, but it doesn't mean that it doesn't come back to bite me in the ass every now and then."

"I knew you weren't guilty of anything. I just needed to hear it from you."

"Well I'm glad because you know if I had been guilty, I would have been jailed and I wouldn't have met you."

"I'm glad too" (Brennan says with a flirtatious smile)

[He leans in and kisses her and she reciprocates, except there is this burning feeling in the back of her mind that even though Grant is innocent, she still shouldn't be here with him]


	2. The Spat on the Forensics Platform

Hey Guys, so I know that this is totally messing with continuity, but I just forgot to put this scene in earlier and I really wanted to include it. I told you before that I would be doing this sometimes. So, if you want a continuous experience just read it from the beginning. Don't worry, I'll be updating with a new scene soon, just bare with me for now. I think that this scene is just a really amusing one that shows off some of the tension between the two B's. It picks up the morning after Brennan's first date with Grant. So kick off your shoes and enjoy.

So, for a little background on this, Booth comes back with Hannah. Of course, Brennan is heartbroken and doesn't seem to want to hang out with Booth, because of the pain. However, Brennan soon meets this good looking, successful economics professor, Grant Wylde (portrayed by Bailey Chase), who is originally from Austin, TX, but moved to Washington, DC to advance his career. Eventually, they become serious and Booth, still not completely over Brennan (although he won't admit that to himself), displays classic signs of jealousy (sorta like Sully 2.0). Then, Grant asks Brennan to move back to Texas with him and Brennan, thinking she has lost Booth forever, agrees to go. Oh and for those who are curious, Brennan has secured a job in Austin, heading up the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! The characters and story lines of Bones belong to FOX, not me. Except for Grant, Grant is mine. So, (drumroll please) on with the scene!

* * *

[It was the morning after; the morning after she had gone out with Grant. The morning after she had stormed out of the lab in a rage at her friends' attempts to warn her about Grant. It was the morning after and Angela was dying to know the details of her date. At first, she hadn't been to thrilled about her friend going out with anyone else besides Booth, but, hey, Booth had a girlfriend. So what was her friend supposed to do? Brennan was _not_ the kind of woman who sat around waiting for some guy. She walked out of her office and into the main forensics area, surprised to see that everyone was gathered on the forensics platform, Booth, Cam, Hodgins, Wendell, and even Nigel. Everyone, **except Brennan, **was there**.** Brennan was late. But, Brennan was never late. Oh god, _something_ must have gone well, she thought. As soon as she had joined everyone else on the platform, giving everyone a friendly smile, and giving Booth a stiff, less than friendly half nod (suffice to say, she was a little annoyed and disappointed with the FBI agent), it was as if by some miraculous hand of fate that Brennan came waltzing into the lab, but she wasn't alone. She came into the lab hand-in-hand with her newest fling, Dr. Grant Wylde. Cam and Angela instantly donned knowing smiles, yet did their best to hide them when Booth shot Cam a death glare and then tried put on a face of indifference. Then all of a sudden, before they could even register it, Grant pulled Brennan into a passionate kiss, which endured for a few seconds before they broke apart and Brennan strode over to the platform, a smile on her face, while Grant showed himself out]

[As soon as Brennan was with everyone else on the platform, Angela chimed in]

"Well, well. It looks like you had a nice time last night." (She says with an insinuating tone)

"Well I'd have to say that it looks that way because I did." (she says with a schoolgirl smile on her face)

"So…" (Cam comes into the conversation) "the _news_ that I gave you didn't come up at all?" (she asks with a somewhat curious tone)

"It did…but it turns out that he had nothing to do with what you were trying to warn me about" (Brennan answers understanding that Cam doesn't want everyone else to know about her suspicions)

"Good, I'm glad you had a good time." (Cam says in an awkwardly apologetic manner) "So…where'd you go to dinner?"

"Oh, this cozy little bistro that Grant knows. It was very nice"

[Booth scoffed at that, already fed up about hearing about Grant. Seriously, what was so great about the guy? Brennan shot him an annoyed look out of the corner of her eye and then turns a more friendly gaze back on Cam, about to add on to her answer, when all of a sudden Angela chimes in]

"Okay, sweetie, enough about dinner. I wanna hear about _dessert_." (it was obvious to everyone what she was trying to say with that dessert reference)

"Angela" (Hodgins says in a low whisper as he leans in closer to his wife)

[Wendell and Nigel, who don't seem to like the direction in which the conversation is heading, take their leave.]

"No, Hodgins, its okay. Um…well I'll say that the _dessert_ was surely better than the dinner" (Brennan says wagging her eyebrows in a suggestive manner)

[Angela smiles at that and then all of a sudden, Booth who had been silently brooding through the whole conversation pipes up]

"You…slept with him." (he says with an unbelieving and somewhat saddened tone; apparently he hadn't put two and two together when Grant escorted her into the lab)

"Well uh….yes. Yes I did." (Brennan says, now a little embarrassed)

[Booth all of sudden fidgets a little uncomfortably and tries to put on another mask of indifference, but Brennan can see right through him]

"What?" (she demands in a harsh tone)

(Booth just shakes his head and says) "Nothing"

"Don't give me that! What, you don't approve?"

[Suddenly the three other people on the platform seem very uncomfortable]

"No, it's just, you know, Bones. You usually wait to get to know someone a little bit better before jumping into bed with them." (Booth says, now matching her annoyed tone from before)

"Oh, and you would know all _about_ waiting to do something, now wouldn't you" (seemingly suggesting more than what she said)

(Booth just looks at her and then says) "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, I think you know" (the truth of the matter though, is that he didn't)

[Trying to disperse the cloud of tension that had settled over the room, Hodgins piped up]

"Okay….who wants to solve a murder?" (he said with a somewhat inappropriate, given the subject at hand, yet needed and a little endearing sense of enthusiasm)

"Not me!" (Brennan announces; at their shocked looks) "I am going down to bone storage to get some **real** scientific work done"

"Okay, well you have fun with that" (Booth says with a bitter tone)

"Oh, I will" (she matches that exact tone)

"Fine" (he says curtly)

"Good" (she counters)

"Great!" (he all but yells)

[She storms off and away from him for the second time in 24 hours. He looks off after her with a muted look of rage in his eyes before turning to the rest of the team and quietly saying to them]

"Call me when you find something" (he walks off through the automated door, with a stiff, aggravated stride)

[The people on the platform are left speechless at what just happened. Cam and Hodgins look at each other with mixed looks of horror, worry, and shock at what had just happened. Angela, however, sported an amused, toothy grin, shook her head and chuckled as if something comedic had just happened]


	3. The Visit of the Boyfriend

Hey guys...so I decided a little bit of filler was needed. Especially in the three months leading up to when Brennan tells Booth she's leaving. I will probably be posting more of these chapters before we get to what Brennan does after she leaves Grant at the airport. I just want the story to be followable...if that's a word. But, whatever, I promise that you'll find out what happened after that airport scene soon, just be a little patient with me. I think that this chapter is very interesting because it shows two characters interacting who you thought would never be in the same room together, at least not alone...Booth and Grant. Enjoy.

So, for a little background on this, Booth comes back with Hannah. Of course, Brennan is heartbroken and doesn't seem to want to hang out with Booth, because of the pain. However, Brennan soon meets this good looking, successful economics professor, Grant Wylde (portrayed by Bailey Chase), who is originally from Austin, TX, but moved to Washington, DC to advance his career. Eventually, they become serious and Booth, still not completely over Brennan (although he won't admit that to himself), displays classic signs of jealousy (sort of like Sully 2.0). Then, Grant asks Brennan to move back to Texas with him and Brennan, thinking she has lost Booth forever, agrees to go. Oh and for those who are curious, Brennan has secured a job in Austin, heading up the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! The characters and story lines of Bones belong to FOX, Kathy Reichs, and Hart Hanson, not me. Except for Grant, Grant is mine. So, (drum roll please) on with the scene

* * *

[Angela sighed. God she hated it when Brennan was being so difficult and wouldn't just listen to her.]

"Sweetie…wear these." (Angela bugged her, holding out a pair of red stiletto heels; heels that while she was sure would contribute to her height, would also make her incapable of walking)

"No Angela…I can hardly walk in those shoes."

"It doesn't matter if you can walk or not, as long as you look amazing. Where is Grant taking you for your anniversary, anyway?"

"I don't know. He said that it would be a surprise."

"Well, wherever it is…you should be wearing these heels." (Angela said in a final attempt to convince her friend)

"Tell you what. How about I wear my own shoes tonight and I promise that I'll wear these shoes when I'm going undercover."

"Oh god…I totally forgot about that. When are you leaving?"

"In about a week. I'm actually kind of dreading it. It just means that I've allowed myself to be dragged into a world of murder and mayhem…again."

"You know, it's gonna suck around here without you. Booth…I can do without for a while."

"Why are you so mad at Booth?" (Brennan asked genuinely confused)

"Well…hello, isn't it obvious. He comes home with that blonde mannequin attached to him after just a few months of being away from you. He always says how true love is so enduring…well then, why didn't he prove that to you. I mean, sweetie, you should be angrier than I am. He hurt you."

"Angela…I had no claim on Booth." (Brennan said somberly. The truth was that that statement was a lot harder to say than she thought it would be)

"Yes…you did! Or at least he acted like you did! And what does that man do?" (She stated sarcastically) "He says _'oh well sorry…but I found someone else. I guess what I felt about you was all just a fluke.'_ I mean how in the hell does he think that everything's going to be okay between you two after that? That man is a **fake** person. He is all talk, no action, no substance behind his words. You can trust him like you can trust a rattlesnake, sweetie."

"Angela!" (Brennan exclaims somewhat frazzled) "Just…it is what it is. You being mad at Booth isn't going to change that. And…who's to say that I _**wanted**_ Booth in the first place. I didn't, okay…I _**don't**_. And what does it even matter, anyway. I have someone. Just…leave it alone, please?"

(Angela, somewhat taken aback by her friends outburst, simply says) "Okay, sweetie…I'm just, I'm looking out for you is all."

"I appreciate it, but…it's really not needed. I'm fine." (Brennan says, trying to convince Angela, and…maybe herself as well)

"Okay."

"Hey…Grant won't be coming till the evening. You wanna go watch a movie or something?"

"Sure." (Angela said with a smile, glad that they had gotten past that awkward topic)

[Angela follows Brennan out of her bedroom, where they had been helping Brennan pick out an outfit for her anniversary dinner, and into the living room to get their things before heading to the theater.]

[It had been three months since they had been back; three months since Hannah came bursting into the diner. It had been two months since Brennan had that first date with Grant. It was also two months since Booth and Brennan had really spent any real time together outside of work. Their regular trips to the bar and diner had stopped; they had grown more and more distant, much to the disliking of well…both of them. Booth hoped that an upcoming undercover assignment would provide for the opportunity for them to make up some of that lost time together. Booth was hoping that he could mend whatever rift had occurred in their relationship. Something had changed, he was sure of it and it tore him up that whatever it was, it was tearing apart their friendship. He had hoped that at least that was one part of their relationship that he could salvage. I mean, couldn't he at least have her in his life that way if…. if what? Where was he going with that thought? Probably to a very dangerous place. A place that he thought his mind had abandoned a long time ago. That place where he was going though, wherever it was, was disrupted by a knock on his office door. He looked up…and there was one of the causes of the growing rift between him and Bones…it was her boyfriend, Grant. Why in the world was Grant paying him a visit?]

"Grant…hey!" (Booth said with a hint of reservation)

"Hello, Agent Booth." (Grant said politely)

"What can I do you for?" (Booth tried to brush away the awkwardness that had settled over the room. Why the hell was Bones' boyfriend visiting him…and without Brennan?)

"Um…actually I was hoping that I could solicit some…advice from you…about Temperance."

[_"Now why would he need advice?" _Booth thought _"Oh this has to be good."_]

"I mean, you're one of her closest friends. So, I thought you might be able to help me out." (Grant said)

"Sure go ahead. Shoot." (Booth said, trying to be cordial)

"Well…our two month anniversary is today and tonight, I'm taking her out to celebrate. And well, I kind of wanted to make it special for her. So I wondered if, maybe, you knew a way to do that."

(Booth digested Grant's use of the word, _anniversary_, before answering him)

"Wow…so, you guys are getting kind of…serious." (Booth asked it more as a statement than a question)

"As a heart attack." (Grant says with a smile, truly counting his blessings that he was with such an amazing woman)

(Suddenly, Booth wanted to eat rocks) "That's…great." (He says with a visceral bobbing of his head)

"Thank you. Uh…well like I said, I thought that you might know what I could do…or where I could take her…" (Grant let that inquiry hang in the air)

(Booth suddenly snaps out of whatever reverie he'd been in)

"Uh…you can. You can take her…" (For some reason, Booth was finding it hard to suggest something that Brennan might like. Finally he said)

"You can take her…dancing." (Truth was, he didn't even know if Brennan liked to dance; he just knew that that was a favorite activity of his own)

"Okay…thanks." (Grant said with a nod)

"So…your anniversary, it's a…big deal." (Booth let that statement hang in the air, like an anvil about to drop)

"Yeah…I really want it to be special for her. She's…amazing. You know, she's…she's one of a kind; a very special woman…wouldn't you agree?" (Grant says)

"…Yeah. I would." (Booth says in a strained voice.)

"I think…I think that she might be the one, for me…you know." (Grant says with a dreamy smile)

(Booth looks at him…and then swallows before saying with a dry mouth)

"Yeah…yeah. I know what you mean."

"Alright, well I better go. I have to get ready before picking her up at her apartment. I'll see you around Agent Booth." (Grant offers that goodbye before exiting Booth's office)

[As soon as he's gone, Booth gets a sinking feeling in his stomach. He feels like he just betrayed something. As if he handed off military secrets to the Chinese or the Russians. Why was that? Why is it that he felt…that he just helped out the enemy?]

* * *

No offense to anyone who is Chinese or Russian...we love you guys.


	4. The Hotel Room in Hawaii

So, for a little background on this, Booth comes back with Hannah. Of course, Brennan is heartbroken and doesn't seem to want to hang out with Booth, because of the pain. However, Brennan soon meets this good looking, successful economics professor, Grant Wyle (portrayed by Bailey Chase), who is originally from Austin, TX, but moved to Washington, DC to advance his career. Eventually, they become serious and Booth, still not completely over Brennan (although he won't admit that to himself), displays classic signs of jealousy (sort of like Sully 2.0). Then, Grant asks Brennan to move back to Texas with him and Brennan, thinking she has lost Booth forever, agrees to go. Oh and for those who are curious, Brennan has secured a job in Austin, heading up the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! The characters and story lines of Bones belong to FOX, Kathy Reichs, and Hart Hanson, not me. Except for Grant, Grant is mine. So, (drum roll please) on with the scene

* * *

[Booth drove up to Jeffersonian, the radio blasting, his luggage packed away in the trunk. While he was packing, Hannah had expressed her disappointment at his leaving and just when her parents were coming to town. Booth, of course, had expressed his shared sense of regret that he was leaving and would miss out on meeting Hannah's parents. However, what he hadn't told Hannah was that he was secretly apprehensive about meeting her parents. I mean, don't get him wrong, he was sure that they were very nice people, but its just that he felt that things were going a little too fast with Hannah. He wanted to slow things down. I mean, it was way too soon to start talking about meeting each other's parents. He got the feeling that Hannah expected a ring by the end of the month and…that was something he wasn't really ready to give. It was something he wasn't even really sure if he wanted to give her. Don't get him wrong, Hannah was great; she got along with his son and with his friends; she was also smart, pretty, fearless…qualities that he had seen in someone else that he knew…_Okay! Stop right there!_ His mind commanded him. He was not going to go down that road again. He had tried that route and…it didn't work for him. It was that final thought that led him into the Jeffersonian parking lot where he swiftly brought his car to a stop in the parking space that he had dubbed as his own and exited the vehicle to get Brennan and leave for the airport. He had to say…he was excited for this assignment. The FBI was sending them to investigate the murder of a volcanologist in Honolulu. This was probably the only chance that he'd ever get to go to Hawaii. Of course they would have to go undercover at some point and that was another reason that Brennan was tagging along. The last place the victim had been seen was at a convention of scientists. He'd been there to present his studies on the role of volcanic eruptions in the shaping of the Hawaiian islands. Therefore, the bureau came up with the idea that Brennan could just use her status as "attendee" to the convention to give Booth a cover…as her boyfriend. He had to admit, his uncertainty about spending a few days with Brennan in a single hotel room aside, he didn't dismiss the thought of pretending that he and Brennan had that kind of relationship…._ No, don't_…his brain interjected on that line of thought…_that's twice in a half hour. Don't think those things_. He reached the sliding glass doors that led to the forensics area. The sight that awaited him there was not necessarily one that he appreciated. There was Grant, his tongue down Brennan's throat. Jeez, what was he doing, probing for treasure buried in her esophagus. They could at least find a place that wasn't so public. They were making out right in front of her office door; people could see them. He walked up to the couple and cleared his throat to make his presence known. Brennan, as soon as she registered Booth's presence, ripped her lips from Grant's. She rubbed her bottom lip, looking as if she had just committed some class-A felony. Grant turned around to see what had caused his girlfriend to withdraw and there he saw Booth.]

"Oh…Agent Booth. Sorry, we didn't see you there." (Grant said, his face turning red)

"Hey there Grant." (Booth said and then pressed his lips together in an awkward manner before saying) "Bones…we should go."

(Brennan gives him an annoyed look before she gives him a curt)

"Sure." (For some reason, he gets the feeling that she isn't all that glad to see him)

[Brennan reaches back and grabs the rollaway suitcase that she had beside her. Just as she is about to walk away, Grant grabs her by the waist, leans in and presses several chaste kisses against her lips.]

"Hm…travel safe, okay." (He says between kisses)

"I will, don't worry." (She says smiling)

"I know I'm going to hate being without you…even if it is for only a few days."

"I'll miss you too, Grant." (She places a soft kiss on his lips before he relinquishes her from his grip)

[Booth then makes short work of hastening Brennan out of there; of course, after giving the obligatory wave goodbye to Grant. Brennan rushes ahead of him, escaping his touch when he tries to put his hand on the small of her back. His heart ached a little bit at that. Did she not even want him to touch her? Did she really dislike him that much at this point? He was silent as they got into the car and drove off to the airport.]

[The plane ride was spent with minimal interaction between them. Well, it helped that Brennan was seated in first class while Booth was stuck, uncomfortably I might add in coach. But, the thing that was so different about this time was that…he didn't make any attempt to go see her in first class. After the annoyance that she had exhibited when he went to go pick her up, he thought it might be best to give her some space. So, he stayed there in his seat, sandwiched between an obese man who slobbered in his sleep and a small, annoying, churchgoing grandmother who kept inquiring as to whether he was a good Christian. When she questioned him if he went to church every Sunday, he decided it was best to just say that he did and hope she left him alone.]

[He was never so glad to see solid land in his life. After they had landed, he quickly found Brennan, who had already found their luggage and they got out of the airport and off to their hotel as soon as possible.]

[Once they have checked in and gotten to their hotel room]

"Ugh…. bed!" (Booth exclaims, flopping onto the mattress with a thud)

"Yes…wait, there's only one." (Brennan points out as soon as she notices)

"Oh…there is." (Booth says once he's registered that fact) "Well, it makes sense. They do want us to keep the appearance of…a couple."

"Uh…well I think it would just be better if I got a rollaway cot for myself." (Brennan says trying to resolve the awkward situation that had come about)

"Wait, no Bones. If anybody is sleeping on the rollaway cot, it's me." (Booth said in that chivalrous tone he usually took with her in these situations)

"No, Booth…you can hardly stand. And from my experience, it takes them at least an hour for them to get it here."

"Well…aren't you tired, Bones?"

"Yes…but I can wait. You, go ahead, sleep."

"No. You know what, we…we can…share, for now."

[At her surprised and disbelieving look]

"I mean…it's just a bed. And…we can put up a few pillows here…" (He says it while arranging the pillows to form a partition along the middle of the bed, acting as if he just put up an immovable bulwark between them)

"Yeah…you're right." (She says) "I mean we're both adults. We can share a bed without it being that big of a deal." (She offers)

"Yeah…so…good night, then." (He says taking off his shoes and jacket and crawling into the bed)

"Good night…Booth." (She says doing the same ritual as him, taking off her shoes and jacket before making her way between the sheets)

[The sleep is surprisingly peaceful. Actually, it's the most peaceful sleep he's gotten in months. Something about it just feels…._right_. Is it the mattress…no, it was just like any other mattress. Actually the one he had at home was more comfortable. Was it the pillows…no, they actually made his neck hurt. He didn't know what, but something made his slumber all the more enjoyable. He had been sleeping for what he thought was only a few hours. But that theory was debunked when he felt sunlight streaming onto his face. Oh my god…he had slept right into the next morning. It was with that thought that he opened his eyes and he saw her. Her face was only a few inches from his own. The wall of pillows that he had so painstakingly constructed had been demolished as they had apparently had moved closer to each other in their sleep. However, he wasn't too focused on that. He was caught up in how the morning sunlight coming in through the window cast a golden halo around her silky, auburn hair. Her eyes were still closed and he could see the steady rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. _Wow_. That was the only thought that entered his mind. For him it was like seeing the Grand Canyon or watching the Aurora Borealis. He couldn't help but wonder…what would it be like, if he got to wake up to this sight every morning. Suddenly, his hand developed a mind of its own and slowly it began advancing up toward her cheek. He had to just get a feel of her…see how she would feel underneath his fingertips.]

[Just when his finger were about to caress her skin, she takes a deep breath and rolls over in her sleep, robbing him of his chance. Mentally, he chastised himself. _What are you doing?_ His mind inquired in a harsh tone. He grimaced at the almost error he had just made and rolled out of bed with a heavy grunt. What he didn't know, however, is that Brennan was also awake. She had been awake through what had just happened. She waited until he was gone, disappeared into the bathroom before she opened her eyes, revealing that they were tearing up underneath. She bit her lip and cursed herself for allowing what had just happened to happen. A single tear formed in the corner of her eyes and she let out a muffled sob before she closed her eyes again so that she could make it appear as if she just woke up when he came back in the room.]


	5. The Waltz in Waikiki

So, for a little background on this, Booth comes back with Hannah. Of course, Brennan is heartbroken and doesn't seem to want to hang out with Booth, because of the pain. However, Brennan soon meets this good looking, successful economics professor, Grant Wyle (portrayed by Bailey Chase), who is originally from Austin, TX, but moved to Washington, DC to advance his career. Eventually, they become serious and Booth, still not completely over Brennan (although he won't admit that to himself), displays classic signs of jealousy (sort of like Sully 2.0). Then, Grant asks Brennan to move back to Texas with him and Brennan, thinking she has lost Booth forever, agrees to go. Oh and for those who are curious, Brennan has secured a job in Austin, heading up the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! The characters and story lines of Bones belong to FOX, Kathy Reichs, and Hart Hanson, not me. Except for Grant, Grant is mine. So, (drum roll please) on with the scene

* * *

[Fortunately, their prolonged nap hadn't messed up their schedule too much. Sure, he wanted to go over the details of the case a little more before they were thrown right into it, but hey, when life gives you lemons… He and Brennan had been briefed on all the details, gone over the file, all that technical crap. It was time to go to the conference and let Brennan mingle with the brainiacs. He had to admit, if there was one group of people that Brennan could blend into without any trouble, it was scientists. She really could handle herself in an intellectual atmosphere; it was actually kind of impressive. He was finishing his tie when Brennan walks into the room wearing a white button down shirt and a pencil skirt. The clothes that she's wearing just scream sexy college professor; the kind that'll keep you after class for some "private tutoring." Booth does the double take when he looks at her.]

"Wow…Bones, you look…good."

"Oh…thanks."

"Well, uh…we better be getting down there, don't you think?" (He says, trying to dissipate the awkwardness that had settled over the room with his statement)

"Yes…I know that they will be expecting to see me down there. You know, considering that I am the leading authority in my field…"

"Yeah, Bones, I know." (He says stifling a laugh)

[Down at the banquet that was being held for the visiting scientists, it was obvious Booth felt out of place, he sipped the coconut cocktail that he had gotten from the open bar, which was by far the only thing about coming to this thing. _Well, not the only good thing_ he thought as he saw Brennan make her way over to him. She had just been conversing with a few of the scientists. What he couldn't quite figure out though, is why was Brennan wearing heels that looked like they could tip her forward. They were…incredibly sexy. She stopped in front of him and snatched his drink from him without asking permission and took a sip and letting out a huff.]

"You okay there, Bones."

"Oh, I'm fine…it's just my feet are killing me."

"Well, why would you wear those shoes then?"

"I…promised Angela that I would wear these at least once."

(He laughed, of course it was Angela. Ever since she had gotten married and pregnant, it was as if she was using Brennan as a puppet to live out the fantasies of a single life that she could no longer experience.)

"You find out anything about the vic?" (He asked deciding to get serious)

"Well, apparently…half of the scientists aren't even aware that Dr. Gardener has even gone missing and the other half are under the impression that he just decided to leave the convention. His research partner told me that he was going out to collect some research data when she last saw him. She seems…very worried."

"Well, yeah…I mean, wouldn't you be worried if I just all of a sudden went missing?"

[She's about to answer when she's interrupted by a familiar voice]

"Well if it isn't T. Brennan extraordinaire."

[Brennan whips around and looks into the face of an old friend]

"Eva! Oh my god" (Brennan says hugging her college friend)

"It's so good to see you." (Said the woman returning the hug)

"Booth, this is Eva Larson, my roommate from Northwestern. She's a social psychologist at NYU. Eva, this is Seeley Booth, my…boyfriend." (Booth shook the woman's hand, she was just as tall as Brennan and just as pretty with straight shoulder-length platinum blonde hair."

"Oh, wow, it is very nice to meet you." (Said Eva, taking Booth in and then mouthing the word 'wow' to Brennan)

"Likewise." (Said Booth)

"Wow, well my roommate seems to have done very well for herself. She's a gem isn't she…tell me that you're taking good care of her."

"Oh, no worries, I am."

[Brennan then decides to break that line of conversation]

"So…how's Ted? I haven't seen you guys since your wedding."

"Oh he's at home with the kids. He wishes he could've come but Amber's sick and she doesn't trust anyone except for either her father or I to give her medicine. I just can't believe that you're here…we must catch up."

"We must."

"Lunch tomorrow?"

"Absolutely" (said Brennan, excited about seeing her friend)

"Okay, well I better get back over there. My team is about to present. I will see you tomorrow. Oh and yeah…there's a banquet tonight. You're going to be there, correct."

"Um…yes, we'll be there." (Said Brennan, unsure)

"Good, well I'll see you later." (She's walking away when she turns back around and says) "You know, you two make the perfect couple, you're obviously meant for each other." (She turns back around and saunters off to her group)

[Suddenly an awkward layer of tension settles between Brennan and Booth. They go a few seconds without saying anything before Brennan breaks the silence.]

"You know…she used to say the same thing about Britney Spears and that guy from N Sync." (She says with an awkward laugh)

"Yeah" (Booth says trying to shrug it off)

"I'm gonna go take a seat before the presentations start. Are you…coming?" (She lets that question hang there for a second)

"Uh…no, I'm just a little tired. I'm going to go back up to the room. You, go ahead…I'll meet up with you later."

"Okay."

[Those are the last words before she goes off to find a seat. He just stands there watching her retreating form before she is swallowed up by a sea of scientists. He then lets out a sigh and goes back up to the room to rest up.]

[Later…Booth is getting dressed for the banquet, taking out the grey pinstripe suit that he had packed for himself. He was glad to be doing this again…going undercover, with Brennan. It reminded him of the _old days_, as Caroline liked to phrase it before everything had gotten so complicated between them. He looked back at that night in front of the Hoover; maybe, he thought, he made a mistake in the way he had just sprung it on Brennan. He had once told Sweets that he should have known not to rush her into anything. Well…why hadn't he taken his own advice. He takes another look at himself in the mirror and heads downstairs, where Brennan said she would meet him. As he descends the stairs, he looks for his partner in a mass of eggheads. Finally he spots her. She looks…. 'nice' was the only kosher word that came to mind. She was wearing a charcoal colored one-shoulder cocktail dress that at the same time that it radiated sexuality still emanated a sense of elegance and refinement. Still, that element of elegance didn't stop Booth's jaw from dropping to the floor and those of a few other men in the room. She was chatting with Eva when she saw Booth come in and called him over]

"Hey there ladies."

"Well hello Seeley, and might I say…you look very dapper." (Eva said in a friendly tone)

"Oh thanks. Same to you…well…you know what I mean."

"Yeah I do" (she says with a laugh) "I think…I see my group over there, so if you'll excuse me." (She turns to Brennan) "Lunch…tomorrow?"

"Yes" (Brennan says with a smile)

[Eva walks off and finds her friends in the crowd before Booth leans in to whisper something to Brennan, catching a whiff of her perfume. She smelled like jasmine. It was _incredibly_ intoxicating.]

"She's nice." (Booth says appreciating Brennan's friend)

"Yeah, I know. She was my best friend in college…don't tell Angela."

"Don't you worry, Bones…your secret is safe with me." (He says with a smile)

"Thanks…" (She exhales and looks around just as some music starts to play up)

"Well I'm going to go…get something to drink…" (She starts to walk off and then)

"Wait, Bones, uh…do you…do you wanna dance?" (Booth ventures into that territory)

[At her caught-off-guard look, he elaborates]

"I mean, we are supposed to be 'dating', so…"

"Yeah…sure. Why not?" (She says with an awkward smile)

[She awkwardly puts her hands on his chest as his wind their way around her waist as they begin swaying along to the music. They were silent, barely looking at each other, throughout most of the song before Booth finally decided that it was time to pipe up and say something.]

"So…you and…Grant." (She gives a quizzical look before he continues) "You look…happy." (For some reason, just saying that makes him wish that he'd stayed quiet) "I mean…it looks like its going good between you guys."

"Oh…uh, yeah I'd say I'm happy. I mean, who wouldn't be with Grant. He's…wonderful."

[Booth nods, well not really nods but just bobs his head up and down, like that bobble head that the British police at Scotland Yard gave him before he went back to the states. He wished he hadn't have opened his mouth when all of a sudden, some new news came up that made him wish he would just shut up permanently.]

"Actually…he asked me to move in with him."

(Booth suddenly wanted to rip out his own voice box so that he could never inquire about her relationship again.)

"Uh…that's…terrific, Bones."

"But…I said that I needed a little bit more time. I mean, he's great…but I just feel like…I don't want to go _too_ fast."

[Booth hid his relief]

"Well, ya gotta do what's right for you, Bones."

"Yeah. So…what about you and Hannah?"

"Oh…uh it's good. Things are…things are really good."

"So you…you're happy?"

"Yeah…I am. She's a great girl, Hannah."

"That's good to hear, Booth."

[Brennan looked down for a second and took a deep breath. She was silent for a minute before she looked back up and said]

"You wouldn't…you couldn't have been happy with me."

[Booth was caught off guard at that comment]

"It would have been impossible." (She added) "You know that now…right?" (She said and if Booth didn't know better he would've thought he saw her eyes begin to glass over)

[Booth is speechless until he finally starts to ask]

"Is that…is that what you really…" (He's cut off when Eva comes over)

"Temp, you have to come over here. Some of my friends are asking about you." (Eva looks between the uncomfortable looks between her and Booth) "Did I…walk in on something?"

"Uh…no, no, Eva, everything's okay." (She says letting go of Booth) "Um…where…where are your friends."

[Eva directs her away from Booth, but not before Brennan turns back and says]

"I'll see you later, honey."

[She walks off and is lost in the crowd. Booth is left standing there. _Is that…is that really what she thought_. He asked himself. _What if…what if she didn't turn me down because she didn't want to be with me? What if it was because…she didn't think she could make me happy?_]


	6. The Return to DC

Hey Guys, sorry for the incredibly long wait, but what can I say: life gets messy. Anyway, this is the last filler chapter. I'll post another chapter really soon…so on with the story, huh:

So, for a little background on this, Booth comes back with Hannah. Of course, Brennan is heartbroken and doesn't seem to want to hang out with Booth, because of the pain. However, Brennan soon meets this good looking, successful economics professor, Grant Wyle (portrayed by Bailey Chase), who is originally from Austin, TX, but moved to Washington, DC to advance his career. Eventually, they become serious and Booth, still not completely over Brennan (although he won't admit that to himself), displays classic signs of jealousy (sort of like Sully 2.0). Then, Grant asks Brennan to move back to Texas with him and Brennan, thinking she has lost Booth forever, agrees to go. Oh and for those who are curious, Brennan has secured a job in Austin, heading up the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! The characters and story lines of Bones belong to FOX, Kathy Reichs, and Hart Hanson, not me. Except for Grant, Grant is mine. So, (drum roll please) on with the scene

* * *

"Dr. Brennan, it's good to hear from you. How is the case going?" (Asked Sweets over video chat as Brennan took her laptop and sat on the bed)

"It's going well, Dr. Sweets. I have to say that everything is wrapping up quite quickly. We might actually be back in DC by the end of this week."

(It was true; Booth had already arrested the suspect. As it turned out, the victim was having an affair with his _married_ research partner. His research partner, whose husband knew about the affair and came with her to the conference, using the opportunity to murder the man cuckolding him. There were just a few last minute case details that needed to be wrapped up.)

"Well that's good to hear Dr. Brennan. It's good to know that you and Agent Booth are working well together again."

(Brennan continued) "Well…actually. There something I need to talk to you about. Actually, it's a favor, really…"

"Anything Dr. Brennan, shoot."

(Brennan looks at the screen and takes a deep breath before she confides in Sweets what she wanted to ask)

[His back hurt from trying to sleep on a very uncomfortable, very cramped airplane seat. His stomach grumbled from the fact that he slept through the dinner that they were offering on the flight. And he probably smelled from not being able to get a shower in before running off to the airport in Hawaii. But none of those things mattered; they were back stateside. Seeley Booth reveled in the sight of the Washington DC skyline that appeared in his window as they landed at Dulles international. Finally, he could go home, take a shower, get a bite to eat at the diner with Bones; all they needed to do first was to stop by the Hoover first to drop off a few files.]

"Why are you being so quiet?" said Booth as they exited the elevator

"I'm not."

"Yeah, you are. You haven't said anything since we got out of the car."

"Well, maybe I don't needa _reason_, Booth. Maybe…I just have nothing to say." Brennan snapped. Brennan never snapped, so Booth took it as a sign that she was upset about something, he just didn't know what.

"Bones, what's…" he was interrupted by Sweets

"Hello Agent Booth, Dr. Brennan" he said giving a short nod in Brennan's direction before continuing

"What do you want Sweets?"

"I, uh. I just need to talk to you guys…it's important."

"Okay Sweets, maybe later. We're in the middle…" he didn't have time to finish before he was cut off.

"I should rephrase. It's of _vital_ importance." Sweets said, not in the mood to kowtow. After his talk with Dr. Brennan, he felt it was important that he deliver this news as quickly and painlessly as possible. Well, actually no matter how he delivered it, it would still be painful.

[Booth, shocked at Sweets' newfound balls, silently followed into his office. Once inside Brennan shut the door and took a seat on the couch. Booth followed suit; suddenly he felt like he was in high school again, being called into the principle's office; a very, very baby-faced principle.]

"This, uh, this hurts me to have to say this." Sweets began "You know I've never said it out loud, but…you guys have always been my two favorite patients. I…I even like to think of us more like friends."

"Just…tell us, Sweets." Booth said, starting to become a little worried.

There was extended silence before Sweets finally spat it out

"It has become my _professional_ opinion that…in light of recent events…the two of you may…not be suited to work _together_ anymore." Sweets finally spat out, choking on every word of that last sentence. He put special emphasis on the professional, covering his tracks.

"Wh-what?" Booth said, rising from his seat in anger. "Listen here _junior_. Me and Bones, we're staying partners and if you try…"

"I believe that _I_ have the final say in that Agent Booth. And you haven't even asked Dr. Brennan what it is that she wants."

"I know that she doesn't want to stop being partners. I know that…"

"Booth!" Brennan practically screamed, shocking the two men in the room. "Could you please, just for once, listen to something else other than the sound of your own voice?" Brennan quickly rose from her seat, walked over to the door and threw it open, rushing out of there as if trying to escape something…something that before she had found such comfort in.

Booth looked after her, dumbfounded. He stood there shocked for a second before turning to Sweets, pointing his finger at him and growling:

"We're not done here."

He rushed out the door that Brennan had just used to escape and followed her down the hall. Sweets simply put his face in his hands and let out a beleaguered sigh.


	7. The Heartbreak in the Hoover Building

Alright so this is just a scene that I thought would work out really nicely in the Booth/Brennan story given all of the crappy spoilers we have been getting. At first I was incredibly mad that Booth was getting a new love interest and the Brennan was going to have to sit and mope and come up with some stupid scheme with Angela to get Booth back. I mean that would just be too cliche. But then i had a thought. What if all that galavanting around with this new woman might cost Booth Brennan forever. What if Brennan, heartbroken and tired of Booth not seeing her, decided to do what she always does in these situations, run. Except, this time, she's running away permanently. That would certainly wake Booth up.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: I'm looking to collaborate with someone on this storyline. I'm only good at writing big scenes, that are important. I suck at everything in between, the details. So I'm just gonna keep churning out scenes and anyone who wants to work on this with me, please let me know, and please don't just steal my ideas!

So, for a little background on this, Booth comes back with Hannah. Of course, Brennan is heartbroken and doesn't seem to want to hang out with Booth, because of the pain. However, Brennan soon meets this good looking, successful economics professor, Grant Wylde (portrayed by Bailey Chase), who is originally from Austin, TX, but moved to Washington, DC to advance his career. Eventually, they become serious and Booth, still not completely over Brennan (although he won't admit that to himself), displays classic signs of jealousy (sorta like Sully 2.0). Then, Grant asks Brennan to move back to Texas with him and Brennan, thinking she has lost Booth forever, agrees to go. Oh and for those who are curious, Brennan has secured a job in Austin, heading up the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

This scene picks up right after a session with Sweets, in which he has determined them incapable of working together.

Everything that is underlined is Booth speaking or thinking, not underlined is Brennan, and in brackets are just narration to the story or chronological ordering.

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! the characters and story lines of Bones belong to FOX, not me. Except for Grant, Grant is mine. So, (drumroll please) on with the scene

* * *

"What the hell was that, Bones?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? Sweets just dissolves our partnership and you walk away like nothing's wrong"

"Well maybe there is nothing _wrong_, Booth. Maybe what Sweets just did was the right thing."

"Okay, I'm really hoping I just heard you wrong right there."

"What if we were the ones who got it wrong Booth? Maybe we were never meant to be partners or friends!" (As she secretly plans to say that she thinks they should have been more, instead what comes out of her mouth is) "Maybe all we were meant to be was acquaintances. You know, someone who you just pass in the hallway and say hello to time and again."

"I can't believe that you're saying this. I know you don't mean it."

"Maybe I do…and maybe I don't. No matter what I mean, what I think, it doesn't change anything does it." (She gets onto the elevator and looks back at him; he looks at her with a questionable expression (half-angry/half concerned) as the doors close)

[Later]

"Hey"

"Hey"

"Listen Booth; I just wanted to say that I was sorry for before. I shouldn't have just left you without an explanation."

"Not a problem Bones" (he says cockily; thinking that she's here to grovel and get their partnership back on track). "So, what's up?"

"Um, that's actually what I want to talk to you about. There's something I have to tell you."

[He turns around to attend to some files with a smile on his face, thinking that everything's going his way. Thinking that maybe she convinced Sweets to change his mind about dissolving their partnership or maybe that he might get a chance to turn her down this time.]

"Aw Bones, I'm sure everything's going to be o-"

"I….I asked Sweets to dissolve our partnership."

[The words cut into him like knives. He feels like he was just punched in the stomach by Wolverine. The cocky grin he was sporting just seconds before instantly fades from his face; he turns around with a mixture of pain and question in his eyes.]

"What?" (He says it as if he can barely speak)

[She says nothing and looks to the floor as if she could find the answer to his question scribbled on the carpet.]

"Why Bones? I mean I know that things have been a little weird between us lately, but wh-what could be worth throwing away five, almost six, years of being part-"

"Grant is moving to Austin to be closer to his family" (she says suddenly). "And, uh, he wants me to move away with him."

[That statement shuts him up. This time it feels like Superman with brass knuckles.]

"I told him that I needed time to think about it. So I asked Sweets to dissolve our partnership because I need to make this decision without anything that could sway me one way or the other."

"Bones, you can't leave now, I mean we just got back and you know your life is here. You're family and your friends…they're all here. You can't just leave them behind."

"I didn't say I was definitely going, I just said that I was going to try and make a decision. And everyone would understand if I went, my family and my friends can take care of themselves, I mean, there's nothing really here for me anymore."

"Well when we got back, at the diner remember, you said that…"

"Well, I'm entitled to change my mind about something, aren't I?"

"But, you do have things here for you Bones. Not just family and friends, you have your work, **our work**, and…"

"You know what I mean Booth...I mean, Sweets has Daisy, and Cam has Paul and Michelle, Hodgins and Angela have each other, and you have Parker and Hannah. (She says that last part with just a barely discernable touch of disdain). Who do I have? Who here really _needs _me?"

[He fights the urge to scream out that she has him, that he _needs_ her; that she has a claim on him, something that even those seven months away and meeting Hannah couldn't erase.]

"Grant wants to be the guy who wakes up next to me every morning and the guy who holds my hand when I'm scared, the one who lets me cry on his shoulder when I'm upset. He wants to build a life and a family with me" (she says as though its hard to believe anyone would want to have a life or family with her). "You know, I had the chance for that once...with Sully" (she tacks that last part so that he wouldn't think that she really meant him, because she didn't right?). "And I passed it up, because I was afraid of leaving something behind, something that I thought really needed me. But, this could be another chance for me to have that, to do it over again and take the road not travelled this time. How can I pass that up again?" (She says secretly hoping that he gives her a reason)

[He stays quiet, debating whether he should fake a smile or jump out the window. He's so busy being fixated on the floor that he doesn't see the look of hurt on her face when he doesn't say anything that could convince her to stay.]

"I, uh, I have to go. I told Grant that I'd meet him to tell him my decision and I think that you just helped me make it."

(In one last effort, he suddenly stands from his desk to say something, anything) "Bones!…"(she turns around, but he can't seem to say anything else)

[He chokes on unsaid words as she looks into his eyes from across his office before saying two words that she had hoped she'd never have to say again and that he'd hoped he'd never have to hear again.]

"Goodbye Booth."

[She walks away and he watches her walk away just like the time before, in the airport, and the time before that in the Founding Fathers, and the time before that in his office after their yelling match, and the time before that outside of that smelly pool bar after they had just kissed. She's gone before he can churn out one more tear-filled word.]

"Bye"

[Oh yeah, definitely Superman with brass knuckles.]


	8. The Sun in the Stars

Okay so I got the idea for this scene from a show that my little brother and I used to watch together when we were younger, I just pretty much took a nickname that one of the characters had because i thought that i was just really touching and it always stuck with me and here I applied it to Brennan. I don't claim any control over that character, cuz well it was a cartoon. Yes, yes I got this idea from believe it or not Justice League (don't laugh), but I've tweaked it. I think its a rather touching scene between Booth and Brennan, but I'll let you guys judge for yourselves. And FYI, the stuff here is going to tie into later chapters.

So, for a little background on this, Booth comes back with Hannah. Of course, Brennan is heartbroken and doesn't seem to want to hang out with Booth, because of the pain. However, Brennan soon meets this good looking, economics professors, Grant Wylde (portrayed by Bailey Chase), who is originally from Austin, TX, but moved to Washington, DC to advance his career. Eventually, they become serious and Booth, still not completely over Brennan (although he won't admit that to himself), displays classic signs of jealousy (sorta like Sully 2.0). Then, Grant asks Brennan to move back to Texas with him and Brennan, thinking she has lost Booth forever, agrees to go. Oh and for those who are curious, Brennan has secured a job in Austin, heading up the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! the characters and story lines of Bones belong to FOX, Justice League belongs to Cartoon Network, I think, and the songs that are mentioned in here are not mine either. None of it is mine, except for Grant, Grant is mine. So, (drumroll please) on with the scene

* * *

"So, where are you headed off to tonight?" (Caroline asked wondering why Booth seemed to be in such a rush to get out of here) "Hot date with that girlfriend of yours? What's her name, Harriet?"

"Hannah, and no, I'm going over to the lab. See if Bones wants to get something to eat."

"So, Dr. Brennan?" (Caroline started, testing the waters in what could be dangerous territory to enter into) "everything's good with you two?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, she's leaving soon, isn't she? I thought you wouldn't be to keen on her being halfway across the country in a few weeks."

[Booth looked down acting as if he was fixated on something on his desk. The truth was, he wasn't to keen about it, but he wasn't about to let Caroline know that and what could he to do about it anyway]

"It's really none of my business. And you know, its what she wants, it's what'll make her happy."

"Cherie, if you honestly believe that, then you don't really know that girl as well as you think you do." (She walks off, down the hall; that's the second time a friend of his had walked away after saying some vague statement. What the hell is with everyone was he missing something?)

[It had been two weeks, three days, and six hours since Booth had received the worst news of his life that Brennan was leaving DC, that she was about to make an exit from his life, permanently. She had two and a half more weeks here and then, she was jetting off to Texas. The fact that she was leaving while on the arm of another man, a man more successful and just as handsome as himself, wasn't helping him to feel better about it, either. He didn't know what bothered him more, that she had found someone that made her forget all about him or that the guy she was forgetting about him with was a better man, a man more worthy of her. Smart, handsome, successful, kind, considerate, these were all words that Booth had heard Brennan use to describe him to Cam or Angela. True, he shouldn't have been eavesdropping on her private conversations, but he just had to know; had to find out what this guy was like, this guy who was going to whisk her away forever, the guy he was going to lose her to. Everything had changed between them, they hardly ever spent any time together outside of work anymore, and true that trend had started as soon as Hannah came into town, but it was different then. It was he who had someone while she didn't. Now that she had somebody too, he couldn't…couldn't what? You know what, none of that mattered now, Bones was leaving, it was over, she had found someone to love and he had found someone to love him, even if wasn't to sure he reciprocated. He cared about Hannah, he really did, but ever since he got back to DC, something had changed from what it was when he was away. He felt something tugging at him here that hadn't been there in Afghanistan, but he owed it to himself and to Hannah to give it a try, right? At least that's what he told himself as he was driving over to the Jeffersonian to pick up Brennan to try and pry her out of the lab and get something to eat at the diner.]

"C'mon Bones, let's go" (Booth announces as he walks into her office without being invited)

"Go…where exactly?" (She says with a pinched face of confusion)

"To the diner, we're getting some grub."

"Uh…Booth I'm not sure. I have a lot of work here, its going to take a while and"

"Please, Bones" (He interrupts)

[He says it with a slight tone of desperation, as if he's begging her, she looks at him surprised at it]

"I mean, we haven't spent time together in ages and…you're leaving soon. This could be the last time we get a chance to do that."

(She looks at him for a moment before saying)

"O…okay. Let me just grab my purse."

[He nods while she fetches her bag and soon enough they're out the door and headed to his SUV]

[A little later at the diner, Booth and Brennan were seated at their usual spot, with their usual orders, but they weren't having their usual banter. Booth was too lost in thought. As he watched Brennan daintily nosh away at her salad, God he loved the way she ate, his mind drifted back to what Caroline said. At first, he thought it was absurd; he knew Bones, but as he started to think about it more and more, he realized that he actually knew shockingly little about her. Sure, he knew the basics, what she was like, that she was scientific and literal, and that she had an appetite for knowledge that he had never seen before. He even knew her favorite flower, daffodils. But, that was it. He knew nothing else. What was her favorite song? Her favorite movie? What did she like to do in her spare time, when she wasn't helping him chase down murderers? These questions yawned at him and he was determined to figure out the answers to at least a few of them, at least so he could get a sense of the real her before she became nothing but a memory.]

"Hey, Bones?" (She looks up from her vegetarian meal). "What's uh…what's your favorite song?" (He asks shyly)

"Why?" (She asks confused to the nature of his question)

"I just…I'm just curious. We've never really talked about stuff like that."

(She ponders this) "Only if you tell me yours first."

(He laughs) "Okay well. Um, its "Bring it On Home to Me", you know that one?"

"Sam Cooke, 1963, yeah I know it."

[He looks surprised at her sudden musical knowledge]

"Why is that one your favorite?"

"Well, uh, you know this past time isn't the first time I was in Afghanistan. I was there before in '02."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and when I was there some of the soldiers in my squadron liked to stream radio from home and listen to it. Anyway, so one day I'm lying on my bed and they call me over. They go _'Sarge, you gotta hear this.'_ So I get up and I walk over there and they're listening to this radio show and there was this girl who had been brought on and well the host wanted her to sing something live. And...she started to sing that song, and…"(Booth has a wistful look on his face). You know how people always talk about the most beautiful thing they've ever seen. Well **that** was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard." (Brennan has a thoughtful expression on her face and nods along with Booth, as if she know exactly what he's talking about) "I know it sounds corny, but when I was listening to her sing, I just, I felt like she was calling me back to her, you know what I mean. I felt like I had someone waiting for me at home, even though I had never met this girl, never seen what she looked like" (Booth shakes his head, realizing how ridiculous that all sounds) "Anyway, I had this fantasy that when I came home, I'd find that girl and I don't know marry her or something."

"Did you ever find out who she was?" (Brennan asks with a weirdly thoughtful expression on her face)

"No. I actually tried to, but no such luck.

"Well I mean...the odds of finding one individual that you heard once on the radio, without knowing their...name or appearance are...astronomical. And...even with that information, you'd still have a difficult time, you know, tracking them down." (she stammered in an odd fashion) "And...you have no inclination really to find that girl anymore. You...you have Hannah."

"Yeah, I guess...Okay so I spilled my guts, what about you?"

"Fools Rush In" (She says with a smile)

"Really, Elvis? Well, Bones I never pegged you for a fan of the king, but…"

"No, not Elvis, Ricky Nelson."

"Oh, okay well why?"

(She casts her glance down for a second and then back up to Booth)

"My mom used to sing that song to me when I was a little girl. She used to sing it whenever I was upset, or whenever she was in a good mood, or even just as a lullaby"

[Booth smiles at that. It was endearing to think of Bones as a little girl. He then noticed a wistful ghost of a smile play across her lips. She was thinking of something else]

"What?" (He asks curious)

"Oh, nothing."

"C'mon Bones, it's obviously not nothing."

"It's just…I remembered this nickname my mother gave me."

"What was it?"

"No. You'll think it's stupid."

"No I won't." [He says in a semi-serious tone]

"Yes you will."

"Was is snookie or cuddlepuss or something like that?"

"No." (she says with an amused laugh)

"Then what was it?" (at her continued silence) "Come on Bones...pretty please?"

"She…she used to call me her little sun and stars. She said that…that the planets revolved around me, that I was the center of the universe."

"Well Bones, that's not…"

"The stupid part…is how it made me feel. You know, for a while I started to believe her. I really thought of myself as the center of the universe, or at least the center of hers" (a small smile plays across her features). "But, when they left" (and suddenly that smile is gone) "suddenly I wasn't the center of anything anymore. I miss that feeling, though. You know, that feeling you have when you know that you're important enough to someone that they'd make you the center of everything if they could."

[He has a thoughtfully stunned look on his face, amazed that there was so much he didn't know about her]

"You…you don't feel that way with Grant?" (he asks without thinking)

"What?" (she says surprised at the question)

(He rambles) "Oh, uh, its…its just that you said that you missed that feeling….and I…"

"No, no, it's okay…."(she concentrates on his question for a second). "Grant cares for me, I know that, but…I accepted the fact, a long time ago, that I would probably never have someone in my life who saw me that way again. And I'm okay with that." (she says it as if she's trying to convince herself more than she is so him) "I mean, I'm lucky if people see me at all." (she says with a pained look)

[He is about to say something when she suddenly is in a rush to get out of there]

"You know, um, it's getting pretty late…we should go."

(He nods and simply says) "Okay."

[They walk out of the diner without saying another word about the subject]


	9. The Doctor in the Dress

I got the idea for this scene from the Ugly Betty episode, "Bad Amanda". For anyone who hasn't seen it watched it, trust me, there's a scene in it that is so…good. I just can't explain it. And when I was watching it, I just thought "god, that would be perfect for Booth and Brennan!" Watch it and you'll find out. As you'll notice, I've changed things up in the format so it can look a little more traditional. I got some feedback that the structure I had before was a little too confusing. So, now all quotes are just in quotation marks, you'll have to determine whose saying them on your own, I don't think you'll have a problem with that, but there is still narration in parenthesis and brackets, just so you can get a sense of the emotions of the characters as the story's progressing.

Oh, and if you want to check out the two dresses Brennan wears in this, then search in Google, "Marciano Daylily Kimono dress" (for the first one) and "Nicole Miller tucked sateen grape halter dress" (for the second)

So, for a little background on this, Booth comes back with Hannah. Of course, Brennan is heartbroken and doesn't seem to want to hang out with Booth, because of the pain. However, Brennan soon meets this good looking, successful businessman or doctor (I haven't really specified yet) Grant Wylde (portrayed by Bailey Chase), who is originally from Austin, TX, but moved to Washington, DC to advance his career. Eventually, they become serious and Booth, still not completely over Brennan (although he won't admit that to himself), displays classic signs of jealousy (sorta like Sully 2.0). Then, Grant asks Brennan to move back to Texas with him and Brennan, thinking she has lost Booth forever, agrees to go. Oh and for those who are curious, Brennan has secured a job in Austin, heading up the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! The characters and story lines of Bones belong to FOX and Ugly Betty belongs to ABC, I think. None of it is mine, except for Grant, Grant is mine. So, (drumroll please) on with the scene

* * *

[Brennan needed a break. She had been neck deep in the remains from a thirty to thirty-five year old female from the middle ages, who had been discovered in a mass grave in central Italy. It was hypothesized that she was a victim of the Black Plague. Well, at least this was one good thing about her ending her partnership with Booth, she was able to focus more on anthropology, her lifelong passion, what she had meant to build her career around before she was consumed by murder, by crime, by…love. Ugh, she hadn't meant to think that. True, she liked the fact that she could focus on science, but she couldn't help it. She missed Booth, missed their biweekly trips to the Founding Fathers, their almost daily trips to the diner, but all of that had changed when _she_ came along. But what was she to do, he was happy being in a relationship, she didn't want to mess that up for him and what was she complaining about, she had Grant. Grant, an amazing, handsome, successful man. Grant, who wanted to whisk her away and create a life for the two of them; that was every girl's dream, wasn't it? Well, she guessed she would find out soon enough. She was about to turn her attention back to the woman resting on the examination table when she heard the doors to the lab slide open.]

"Bones!" (Booth bellowed as he waltzed into the lab)

[Now, you think that she would be delighted to see him given her recent train of thought, but she was actually in fact, quite annoyed. Since when was it okay for him to just barge in and interrupt her while she was working. Was there not one part of her life that didn't revolve around him]

"What do you want Booth! You know there's no reason for you to be here anymore."

"Whoa, nice to see you too, Bones."

"Just…what are doing here Booth?" (She says in a softer tone than the one she had used before)

"You know what, I was just coming over to see you, but if you don't want me around then…"(he turns to walk away)

"No, wait Booth…I'm sorry. I've just…been a bit stressed recently."

"Sure, not a problem, Bones. I can, I can understand that. So what you working on?"

"Uh, medieval remains that…. you wouldn't really find too interesting."

"Hey, you, uh, you want to go grab a drink or something?"

"I…I can't. I have way too much work here. I have to finish this before I…leave" (she didn't really realize the implications of that last word before she actually heard it come out of her mouth)

"Are, are you sure? I mean, can't it wait till tomorrow?"

(She wants to say that it can. I mean, wasn't she just thinking that she missed him; that she wanted to be closer to him. But, that was the problem wasn't it. She wanted to be too close to him and she knew that if she went anywhere with him she might say or do something she shouldn't)

"Sorry, no, it ah, it can't"

"Okay, well I guess I'll just see you tomorrow then" (he corrects himself) "or I don't know, later."

[As he turns to walk away, she suddenly pipes up]

"Uh, wait Booth!"

[He turns around]

"I was, uh, I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

"Yeah, sure Bones, anything."

"You see, every year the Jeffersonian hosts this banquet, well it's really a fundraiser. An opportunity for our wealthy donors to see what we're doing with their money and its tomorrow night"

"Okay, I'm up to speed."

"Well you see Grant, unfortunately, can't escort me. He has something at work keeping him and usually, I would just not go, but…this is going to be the last time I'm able to and I kind of want to. But, I need a need someone to take me…it's a long story, but yeah. And I was wondering if you wouldn't mind filling in for Grant, just for night?"

"Oh, y…you want me to…go."

"Well, I mean, you're my friend and you used to come to these things as my partner…so I just thought that…You don't want to go."

"No, I…I just"

"I know its short notice, but it's just that…I just thought."

"No, Bones actually I'd love to."

"Really" (She says surprised at his answer. He sounded almost enthusiastic) "Ok" (she says after a moment of awkward silence) "So I'll, I'll see you tomorrow night."

"Okay then" (he turns on his heel and walks out the doors he came through just a short while ago and even though Brennan wasn't coming out with him, there was a smile playing across his features)

[Oh God, what was she doing? She hoped that she could handle what she had just gotten herself into. Not only did she now have to explain to Grant and everyone else that she was going to the banquet on the arm of her partner, her partner with whom she had a long and complicated history with, but she was going to have to hope that she could trust herself to be around him for one night. But, it was just one night. One night for her to pretend that, that everyone else didn't exist, that Booth was the one that she would go home with come evening's end. One night for her to pretend that she was the one who consumed his thoughts, just as he consumed hers. Little did she know, she was]

[The next day, at the Hoover Building]

[Booth is walking to his office, with a few files in hand, anxiously awaiting tonight, when he would see Bones; he hardly noticed when Caroline appeared next to him]

"Well, I must say, you appear to be in a good mood this morning."

"Hm…oh hey there, Caroline. Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where the undercover closet is, you know that place where we keep all the clothes for undercover assignments, would you?"

"Uh, second floor, I think, why may I ask, do you want to know?"

"Just…no reason" (he says with a smile and walks off, leaving Caroline with a suspicious expression painted across her face)

[Later on, in the closet, Booth is juggling two ties, trying to determine which one he was going to wear tonight, when Caroline comes in, determined to get an explanation for his earlier behavior]

"Hello Booth"

"Oh, hey there. Um, can I ask you a question?" (He turns to her with the ties in hand) "Which one of these do you think brings out my eyes more?"

"Hm…big plans tonight?"

"Oh I'm just, uh, taking Bones out to this banquet thing"

"Dr. Brennan? Shouldn't her boyfriend be doing that?"

"Grant, he's, uh, he's busy."

"And what about your girlfriend? Hannah doesn't mind this?"

"Uh, no, she's cool with it" (the truth was, he had told Hannah that he was going out with his army buddies)

"Well still, there are other people she could have asked. Maybe…she has a little thing for you."

"What…no." (He says with a nervous laugh) "You think?" (This time he asks with a peaked sense of curiosity, could Bones really feel something for him?)

"Yeah, and…what about you? Don't tell me you've never thought about her that way."

"Well, you know it has…crossed my mind"

[He starts, but then suddenly he's cut off by Caroline's hand coming across his face in a crisp sounding slap]

"Ow, what the hell, Caroline"

"She has a boyfriend, Booth, and you have somebody too. What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Okay, there is nothing going on between Bones and me"

(She slaps him again)

"Ow, stop that!"

"I am not blind, Booth, or stupid. I see the way you look at her, and believe it or not, Cherie, I've been around the block once or twice, I know a thing or two about infidelity" (she says as though she is revisiting some painful memory) "Don't go down that road."

"Okay, this is a fundraiser, it's not a date. There are going to be a lot of other **people **around."

"Uhuh and she'll look stunning and the booze will be flowing and one thing will lead to another and before you know it, all those other people won't be around." (at Booth's unbelieving expression) "Trust me on this Booth. I am just trying to save you from a world of heartache. A nothing moment can turn into something huge. Just, just stay away. Write her a check."

[Booth silently ponders this before admitting defeat. The truth was, he didn't trust himself and worried over what he might do around Bones if his inhibitions were lowered]

"Okay"

[Caroline just simply gives him a reassuring look and walks off, leaving a heartbroken looking Booth standing in the closet]

[Later on, Booth is sitting at his desk, working his way through a pile of paperwork on his desk when he hears a wrapping at his door. He looks up and there's Brennan. She's clad in a delicate, light pink kimono dress with a floral print. Her hair done up in a loose bun, allowing an array of stray curls to fall down and frame her face. She looks positively feminine, something not too usual for her]

"Hey"

"Hey"

"I got your message. I'm, uh, I'm here to collect the check."

"Oh yeah sure. It's right here on the desk."

[she walks over to the desk and sees that he has Chinese food out and open in front of him.]

"Do, you…mind?" (she asks pointing to the food)

"Oh no, go ahead"

"Ugh, thank you!" (she palms a container of sweet and sour chicken and sits in the chair across from him) "They always serve the smallest Hors d'oeuvres at these sorts of things and Angela and I always end up going out to get something to eat afterwards. Do you know how hard it is to find something that's open at 2:00 am?"

(He laughs at that) "No, I can't say I do. You know there's a fork if you need it" (he says noticing her difficulty handling the chopsticks in her hand)

"I have three degrees, Booth. I think I can handle a pair of chop…"

[She's cut short by a piece of chicken falling from the chopsticks and onto her dress, leaving behind an orange-ish stain on her dress]

"Damn it" (she curses through gritted teeth)

[He laughs and hands her a napkin]

"Well at least you have enough time to go home and change." (he says looking at his watch)

"Oh forget it"

"You're joking"

"I'm a forensic anthropologist, Booth. I'm always covered in some form of muck, dirt, or bodily fluid anyway. I actually think that sweet-and-sour sauce would be an upgrade"

[All of a sudden, he walks over to the door, gesturing for her to follow him; she looks in his direction with a puzzled expression]

"Where are you going?"

"I'm not letting you go out like that."

[Booth escorts Brennan down to the closet where he was with Caroline earlier]

"Take your pick" (he says turning to her)

"Seriously?" (she asks with an unbelieving expression)

(He simply nods)

"Since when have you become my fairy godmother?"

"Since you became clumsy with chopsticks."

"My god" (she whispers)

[She peruses through the rack on her right for a few seconds before picking up one of the gowns. It's a violet tucked sateen cocktail dress with a halter-style top half.]

"What about this one?" (she asks holding it against herself)

"Hm…good choice"

(She smiles before gesturing at him to turn around. Once he's turned the other way, she quickly changes into her selected garment)

"Okay" (she says, letting him know it's okay to turn back around)

[He turns around, unaware of the sight that is waiting for him. there she is, a sight to behold. The dark purple of the dress contrasts her porcelain white skin perfectly. The dress stops at about mid thigh, showing off the perfect amount of her long, thin, luxurious legs. She's undone her hair so now it comes cascading down past her shoulders in light auburn waves. He's speechless, not only that, but all of a sudden his thought processes have shut down. All he does, all he can do is look at her; he's caught in a lustful, shocked stare when all of a sudden she asks him]

"What do you think?"

[He snaps out of his reverie, seeing the unsure look of apprehension in her eyes. She's not sure if she looks good or not]

"That, uh, that works."

"Are you sure?" (she asks walking toward him) "I don't, I don't usually wear things like this"

"No…uh, you look…amazing, Bones."

[She inspects herself and then sighs upon noticing something on the left side of her dress] "Ugh god, can you?" (she asks, gesturing to the undone zipper)

[He looks at her, unsure of what she's asking and then sees what she's talking about] "Yeah. Yeah, yeah"

[He approaches her and starts zipping her up with his eyes trained downwards. However, while in the process of doing up the zipper, his eyes catch a glimpse of her swan-like neck, which he follows up to her face and takes in the delicate beauty of her features there. She can feel his eyes on her and looks up to meet his gaze. In one moment, his warm, coffee-colored orbs are locked with her cool-gray sapphires. She tilts her head ever so slightly, as if she is taking him in, while at the same time sending off some sort of signal. Was she giving him the invite he so desperately wanted? Without even thinking, he slowly leaned his head into her stopping midway. She, to his surprise, does the same with her eyes half closed in a look of euphoric ecstasy. He closes his eyes, about to close the rest of the gap. Their noses are touching and their lips are less than a millimeter apart, when all of a sudden, she snaps back to reality, her eyes flickering up and down, taking in what's about to happen. And in a deep, yet delicate-sounding whisper, she utters the phrase]

"I need to go"

[She turns to leave, with a look of pure, unadulterated shock at what was about to happen on her face. She gets two or three steps away before turning back, her hair flying back in a wave of cinnamon curls]

"Thank you for the dress" (she says in that same frail voice. She doesn't even sound like herself, she sounds _fragile_, like she is about to fall apart at any second)

[She turns back around and breaks into a run. Man, she can really book it in heels. All that can be heard reverberating through the large storage closet is the "click-clack" of her heels as she runs. That sound provides the backdrop as Booth just stands there with an look of utter shock painted across his face as one lone thought races through his mind, _"Did that really just happen"_.]


	10. The Mirage on the Matress

Hey guys. So, after that last scene, I bet your wondering what happens. Will that almost kiss trigger Booth and Brennan to see the light and just be together already? Will they end their respective relationships? Well keep reading and find out. On with the show!

So, for a little background on this, Booth comes back with Hannah. Of course, Brennan is heartbroken and doesn't seem to want to hang out with Booth, because of the pain. However, Brennan soon meets this good looking, successful economics professor, Grant Wylde (portrayed by Bailey Chase), who is originally from Austin, TX, but moved to Washington, DC to advance his career. Eventually, they become serious and Booth, still not completely over Brennan (although he won't admit that to himself), displays classic signs of jealousy (sorta like Sully 2.0). Then, Grant asks Brennan to move back to Texas with him and Brennan, thinking she has lost Booth forever, agrees to go. Oh and for those who are curious, Brennan has secured a job in Austin, heading up the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! the characters and story lines of Bones belong to FOX, not me. Except for Grant, Grant is mine. So, (drumroll please) on with the scene!

* * *

[Booth walked through the halls of his apartment building, but for some reason, he wasn't thinking about his surroundings. Instead, his mind was wandering back to the events that had just transpired in the storage closet; the "almost-kiss" that him and Brennan had just shared. In that moment, he didn't know what had happened. It was as if his brain just shut off and he was following pure emotional instinct. If he was being blatantly honest with himself, that "almost-kiss" with Bones was much more intimate than any "kiss-kiss" he'd ever had with Hannah or any other woman for that matter. Hell, it was more intimate, more intense, more provocative than any sex he'd ever had either. Was it because of the circumstances of the "almost-event", the both of them in a storage closet, while she was looking positively gorgeous in a beautiful cocktail dress, or was it simply because…she was Bones. She was **his** Bones. He continues his train of thought as he's walking. He's so lost in it that he doesn't notice when he's standing in front of his own door, puts the key in, turns it, and opens the door. He's going through the motions mindlessly, as if he is being pulled along by invisible puppet strings. When he walks into the living room, he finds Hannah asleep on the couch, passed out reading a Seventeen Magazine, which was currently draped across her upper torso in a haphazard manner. Looking at her makes him feel guilty, not guilty that he had almost cheated on her, though. Surprisingly, he wasn't feeling too guilty about that aspect. No, instead he felt guilty that he was stringing her along. She deserved better than that. He had tried to move on with her, tried to establish a relationship, but…. the fact of the matter was he wasn't over Bones. He loved her; he **still** loved her, even after everything. It wasn't fair to Hannah, what he was doing. She deserved better than that. But, he thought he'd save the awkward break-up conversation for the morning, he didn't want to wake her up at…1:30 am, just to tell her things were over. He walked over to his bedroom, shed his clothing till he was clad in nothing but his undershirt and boxers, and climbed into bed, alone, wanting nothing more than a peaceful sleep. Unfortunately, that's not what he was going to get.]

[It was at about two in the morning when he rolled over…and there she was again. Her mahogany-colored hair falling down onto the pillow next to his, casting what looked like a sepia halo around her head. Her eyes were closed and he could see the way her chest expanded and contracted with her soft breathing. He put his hand to her cheek, just to feel what it would be like to touch her milky-white skin without having to "accidently" brush up against her. It was soft, like velvet beneath his fingertips. He could stay here forever, just stroking her skin. All of a sudden she began to stir; her eyes opened, revealing those dusky azure orbs that he'd fallen in love with, again]

"Hi" (she said in a soft voice)

"Hey there" (he matched her muted tone)

"Hmmm" (she hums with a contented look of pure satisfaction on her face) "your hand…. it feels so warm" (she says as she puts her hand over his; they stay there for a moment, neither of them saying anything until she suddenly chimes in with) "Isn't this better? Isn't this the way that things are meant to be?" (She asks in a sleepy voice)

"Definitely" (he says with complete certainty)

"But what about Hannah, I thought you loved her?"

"Who?" (Booth asked, genuinely confused)

"You're girlfriend." (She says as though stating the obvious) "The one you're living with."

"She…she doesn't matter now, Bones. Its over."

"Even so, it may be too…late for us, Booth." (She says as tears start to cloud her eyes)

"No…no, no" (he voices it in a desperate whisper) "don't say that, Bones. Please don't." (He trails off)

(She grips his hand tighter and brings it down to her chest]

"Do you feel that?" (She asks in a hoarse whisper, while pushing his hand into her bosom, he slowly nods, feeling some kind of emptiness between two parts) "It's my heart…and it's broken. You broke it." (She says as a single tear cascades down her face)

"No…no, Bones, I'm sorry. I didn't mean…I lo…"

[He is about to finish the sentence when she opens her mouth again but instead of words, what comes out is a blaring, unattractive noise]

[Booth jolts up in bed, sweat covering the entire top portion of his torso. He looks to his alarm clock; its 8:40 in the morning. He surveys his surroundings; there is no one in bed next to him. He's alone. He had dreamed it all; dreamed that Bones was in his bed next to him, that they were sharing an intimate moment. He looks past the doors to his bedroom and sees Hannah up and about, fixing herself breakfast. After that dream, it was obvious what…what he had to do, what he wanted to do. He gets out of bed and walks over to the living area]

"Oh hello, Seeley." (Announces Hannah in a somewhat annoyed tone) "Thank you so much for waking me up when you got home. Oh wait…you didn't."

"Yeah, sorry about that"

"Its okay…I'm just messing with you. So, want something to eat?"

"Actually, Hannah, there's something we need to…discuss"

"Okay, how come I don't like that word you just used?" (She asks seemingly already knowing what was about to happen)

[He looks to the floor and sits on the couch; he gestures for her to join him and she does]

"Look, Hannah" (he starts, trying to find the proper way to phrase what he wants to say) "You know I think that you are great and that we're great together…but"

"But…. you don't think we're _meant _for each other." (She finishes for him)

[He casts his gaze toward the floor, embarrassed]

(She continues) "So…Dr. Brennan, right?"

[He looks up surprised that she knows why he's ending things]

"You don't have to say anything; I know. I see the way you look at her. You never looked at me that way. Truth be told, I kind of saw this coming." (At his ashamed look she offers some comfort; weird how he's the one breaking up with her, yet she's directing the conversation) "Look Seeley, I may like you a lot…but I know when I'm chasing after a man whose…whose in love with someone else." (She continues) "Seeley, you can control a lot of things about your life. You can control where you live, what you do, you can even control who it is that you end up with…but one thing you can't control…is who you love."

"But, I've been down this road with her. She didn't want me. I don't know what's wrong with me. I mean, she's leaving with…with another guy. What the hell am I supposed to do?"

"You ask her to stay" (Hannah says as though it's the simplest thing in the world to do) "you give her a reason _not to go_."

[There is a moment of awkward silence before she finally gets up off the couch]

"So…I think I've overstayed my welcome" (she says with a stiff nod) "I'll, uh, send for my things. I have an aunt who lives in the DC area; I'll crash with her until I find my own place." (She turns to leave, before turning back to him) "Oh and…Seeley." (He looks up at her from where his eyes were previously fixated) "You better make things work with her, because I will be super-pissed if we just broke up in vain." (She shoots him a warning look, while wagging her finger at him)

[She walks away, and out the front door. He sits there, pondering what just happened. Pondering over the dream, the "almost" kiss; these things had to have meant something right. I mean, **she leaned in too**. Maybe, maybe she was ready; maybe she changed when before she said it was impossible for her to do so. He had to talk to her. He had to put everything out on the table and see where she stood in their "relationship". He was ready to stop the game of cat-and-mouse and just say: "I want to be with you, Bones!" All that had to be done now, was for him to formulate how exactly he was to do that.]


	11. The Girl with the Hangover

Hey again guys. So, I bet your wondering what happened at the banquet, well you're about to find out. This chapter is all about what transpired at that event. Oh and yeah, Booth and Brennan come face to face for the first time after their almost-kiss. That scene though is based on one from Ugly Betty, in the episode "Dress for Success" (yeah I know, but I just though that that was so good). Everything else though, came from me. So sit back and enjoy.

So, for a little background on this, Booth comes back with Hannah. Of course, Brennan is heartbroken and doesn't seem to want to hang out with Booth, because of the pain. However, Brennan soon meets this good looking, successful economics professor, Grant Wylde (portrayed by Bailey Chase), who is originally from Austin, TX, but moved to Washington, DC to advance his career. Eventually, they become serious and Booth, still not completely over Brennan (although he won't admit that to himself), displays classic signs of jealousy (sorta like Sully 2.0). Then, Grant asks Brennan to move back to Texas with him and Brennan, thinking she has lost Booth forever, agrees to go. Oh and for those who are curious, Brennan has secured a job in Austin, heading up the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! the characters and story lines of Bones belong to FOX, Ugly Betty belongs to ABC. None of it is mine, except for Grant, Grant is mine. Trust me if Bones was mine, those two would have had sex so many times by now. So, (drumroll please) on with the scene

* * *

[A loud, blaring noise jolted Brennan out of what was a much-needed sleep. Damn alarm clock! Brennan shut it off and rubbed her face for a few seconds, shaking off the remnants of an alcohol-induced slumber. Her head was **pounding** and I mean **really pounding**, like a drill was boring into her skull. What time was it? She glanced at the clock that had interrupted her pleasant dreams, it was 10:45 am. Well, at least today was a Saturday. She looked about herself, she was clad in nothing more than her matching set of black lace panties and the strapless bra she was wearing last night. How the hell did she even get home, all she could remember was running straight out of the Hoover Building after that…"slip-up" she had made with Booth. Oh my god, that actually happened, she had hoped it was all just a figment of her imagination. She had made a mistake; she had almost allowed her emotions to take control. She had to be careful not to let it happen, even if she secretly wanted to. But, oh god, that "almost"….whatever it was, it was amazing. She had felt her heart beating in her ears when she saw the way he was looking at her and how his eyes had turned almost pure black with desire. After that she remembered hailing a cab, walking into the Jeffersonian, where the banquet was being held and that was it. Well banquet was more just a formal label, it was kind of a….party. They had been serving beer in conical laboratory flasks, martinis in beakers, shots of different types of liquor in test tubes, and wine was being carted around in volumetric flasks; all by waiters donned in blue lab coats. It was all part of some "sciency" gimmick to entertain the donors and although she didn't appreciate the ditzy characterization of her chosen profession, she had to admit, it was somewhat charming.]

"Oh my god" (she moans as she remembers just how many of those beakers she had had)

[Last night]

[Brennan, still in a state of shock and somewhat jumpy about what had happened with Booth makes her way into the large gallery where donors had gathered to mingle with the scientist. She spots the table where Angela, Cam, Daisy, and even Sweets are all sitting. She takes a deep breath and walks over. Angela catches the sight of her and goes wide-eyed at her outfit]

"Sweetie!" (Angela practically gasps) "That is not the dress that I left you in, but I whole-heartedly approve of the upgrade"

"Yeah, hi to you too Angela" (Brennan says as if she's out of breath)

"Hey, sweetie" (she gestures to a beaker full of some delicious-looking alcohol) "I got you a drink already. You weren't here when the guy was taking…"

[In one swift movement, Brennan grabs the glassware and starts chugging the alcoholic beverage inside)

"…orders." (Angela finishes her sentence) "You know, sweetie, that's not….water." (she says wide-eyed as Brennan continues _enjoying_ her drink; the rest of the table watches her with looks like Angela's plastered on their faces. Cam mouths the word "wow" to Angela)

[Brennan, once through with her drink, puts it down on the table with a loud clang. A passing waiter is the stopped when Brennan puts her arm out and it collides with his chest]

"Um, can, can you get me another one of these…" (she looks to Angela with a questioning look)

"Oh, gin and tonic, sweetie"

"Gin and tonic" (Brennan repeats in a louder tone; when the waiter takes her beaker, she continues) "Thank you. Oh and, um" (she stops him before he goes) "could you bring a few of those test tube shots? That would be greatly appreciated. Thank you" (she sends him on his way, a freaked out look on his face; once he's gone Brennan finally takes her seat)

"Dr. Brennan" (Sweets chimes in) "that was considerate of you, ordering drinks for us."

"Hm." (she looks at Sweets, confused as to what he said) "Oh…y-you guys want some too. Well…I guess you could have a few"

[Cam and Angela look at each other and then to her]

"Sweetie." (Angela begins with a hint of concern) "Are you…okay?"

"Yeah, Dr. Brennan. You do look a bit flushed." (Daisy adds with her own modicum of concern)

"I'm fine. Why would you guys ask?"

(Before Angela can push the issue further, Cam comes in)

"Where's Booth?" (Cam queries) "I thought he was supposed to be bringing you."

(Angela picks up on the weird mix of emotions that crosses Brennan's face before she answers)

"Oh…he's couldn't come. He's busy."

"Really? Because from what I saw earlier, he seemed to be pretty excited about tonight." (Cam continues not believing that Booth would just blow off Brennan like that, not so close to when she's about to leave)

"Well, he must have been excited about…something else then." (Brennan offers)

[Angela is about to chime in when the drinks arrive]

"Thank you, God" (Brennan mutters under her breath. Apparently, she sees the bringing of alcohol as proof of God's existence)

[Anyway, long story short, the night continues with her getting extremely drunk and at one point, she believes, she was slumped over a trashcan outside of her apartment building. The evening ended for her at about 3:00 in the morning, when Angela and Cam helped a very incoherent Brennan out of her dress and into her bed]

[Present moment]

"Oh god." (Brennan mutters as the memories come flooding back to her.)

[She quickly replaces the bra and panties with a tank top and blue jeans and ventures outside of her bedroom to find both Cam and Angela asleep on her couch. Apparently, the two had stayed in order to be there if she needed more attending to. Angela stirs as she hears Brennan enter into the living space.]

"Well, good morning." (Angela says in a sleepy voice, shaking off her own dormancy. Both of them are careful not to wake Cam)

"You guys stayed here?" (Brennan says in a somewhat embarrassed voice)

"I mean, yeah sweetie. Do you remember how blitzed you were. We wanted to make sure you didn't…die or something."

"Please tell me I didn't do anything too embarrassing." (Brennan pleads, hoping she didn't make a fool of herself)

"Well besides the trash can thing and ranting about hating all men, you didn't do too much else besides stagger." (Angela was curious and had to get something out of her friend that could explain that kind of behavior. I mean Brennan usually never had more than a glass of wine at a time and now all of a sudden she could outdrink the big boys. Something was up) "What's up with that anyway?"

"Well, Angela. People do stagger when they're drunk."

"No, not that. I mean what was with the raving about how all men are bastards?"

[Brennan tries to look as if she doesn't know why she would say such things]

"I…don't know. Maybe I was just annoyed with Grant for being unable to make it." (she says pulling a fake "okay, now leave me alone smile")

"Okay" (says Angela, knowing that that wasn't it, but deciding not to push the issue to far)

[All of a sudden, Brennan sees something in the corner of her eye. It's the dress, thrown haphazardly onto a chair in the corner of her living room. Angela follows her gaze and ponders why she would be staring so intently at a dress]

"Um, Angela, I have to go stop by the…Hoover for a second. Could you tell Cam that I'm okay? And…thank you both for staying with me" (she says picking up the dress, palming her car keys, and rushing out the door)

"Yeah sure sweetie, but why are you going to he Hoover?" (Angela asks but Brennan doesn't have time to answer before the door closes, effectively waking up Cam)

"Wh-what's up?" (Cam asks drowsily)

"I have _no_ idea." (Angela says, still looking at the door)

[At the Hoover]

[Booth is standing outside of his office, signing off on some papers that Charlie is holding up to him. He decided to come into work today, he needed a distraction. Breaking up with Hannah after all had been difficult, but what he really needed a distraction from was the all-consuming thoughts about his partner. He resolved that he would talk to her. They needed to air things out in the open, but what was keeping him from going to her place right now was that A) he might see Grant there or B) he would go confess his love and it would be nothing more than a repeat of what happened outside of this very building about a year ago. That's what he was really afraid of. What if the closet was a fluke? What is Brennan was just horny or caught up in the moment and he wound up with a broken heart, again? It was at the end of this train of thought that he looked up from the papers and "speak of the devil", he saw Brennan walking down the hall, the dress slumped over her arm. He looked at her and thought "well here goes nothing".]

"Um, thanks Charlie" (he says before walking off down the hall, toward the woman that was headed his way. He called out her name) "Bones."

"Oh, hey Booth"

"Hey" (they stand there for an awkward moment before he breaks the tension) "So…did the dress work out okay?" (he asks nervously)

"Oh yeah, yeah. It was great, you know, it was very…" (she struggles to find a proper word) "_glamorous…_I actually just came to return it…so" (she holds out the dress awkwardly)

"Oh yeah, yeah" (he says, taking the garment)

[As their hands brush against each other, she pulls hers back, alarmed at the contact. When she looks at him after that though, she lets out a heavy defeated sigh. So much for pretending things were just normal]

"Booth, can we…"

"Bones, we need…"

[They both speak at the same time and after realizing their accidental jinx, they share in an awkward laugh. Suddenly, the jovial mood passes and they settle back into awkwardness. He's the first to break the silence]

"Listen, Bones. It's just…we didn't get a chance to talk about…what happened. You know…in the closet."

"Yeaaah" (she draws out the word in a breathy sigh, she twists her head as if to see if anyone is eavesdropping on this intensely private conversation…that they were having in the middle of a crowded hallway) "I…I just wanted…to tell you that…"

[All of a sudden, their dialogue is interrupted by a booming…]

"Ah, there you are" (Grant comes striding in from behind Brennan, placing his arm around her once he reaches her. He then proceeds to plant a kiss right on her lips. Booth's face deflates as he watches the two part)

"Grant!" (Brennan says, utterly surprised at his sudden appearance) "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I wanted to treat you to lunch, but when I stopped by your place, you weren't there." (he explains in his charmingly Texan accent) "Your friend Angela, though, told me that you had just left for the Hoover, so here I am. Oh and by the way, you'll have to explain to me why she was wearing a cocktail dress at 11:50 in the morning. So…ready for lunch?"

"Um actually, Grant…" (she's about to say that she came here to see Booth for a second, but she's cut off)

"No, Bones, its fine. Go ahead." (Booth says fighting the urge to punch Grant in the face.)

(She looks at him surprised. She thought he wanted to talk) "Are…you sure?"

"Yeah, it's cool. I'll, uh, catch up with you later." (he says with a distressed look on his face)

"…Okay" (she says. It is then that Grant begins to steer her away and toward the elevators)

"Always nice to see you Agent Booth." (he says giving Booth a friendly wave goodbye. Once he has turned, Brennan turns back to look at Booth and then back around and continues walking along with Grant's arm around her)

[Booth looks on as she walks away…again. He feels like such a coward. What the hell was he waiting for? He instantly regrets not having the balls to tell Grant to back off his girl. But, all of that seemed moot as soon as they both disappeared behind the metallic elevator doors. He had to try again, but this time, he had to find a place where they wouldn't be interrupted.]


	12. The Advice in the Office

Hey kids. Sorry to leave ya hangin with that last chapter, but I think you'll find this one awesome. FYI there is this awesome part in it where Booth gets yelled at. Kay, peace out boys and girls. Enjoy it

So, for a little background on this, Booth comes back with Hannah on his heels. Of course, Brennan is heartbroken and doesn't seem to want to hang out with Booth, because of the pain. However, Brennan soon meets this good looking, successful economics professor, Grant Wylde (portrayed by Bailey Chase), who is originally from Austin, TX, but moved to Washington, DC to advance his career. Eventually, they become serious and Booth, still not completely over Brennan (although he won't admit that to himself), displays classic signs of jealousy (sorta like Sully 2.0). Then, Grant asks Brennan to move back to Texas with him and Brennan, thinking she has lost Booth forever, agrees to go. Oh and for those who are curious, Brennan has secured a job in Austin, heading up the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! the characters and story lines of Bones belong to FOX, not me. Except for Grant, Grant is mine. So, (drumroll please) on with the scene

* * *

"So?" (Grant asked expectantly, while seated on the couch in Brennan's living room)

"So…what?" (Brennan answered not exactly getting what exactly he was prodding for)

"So…you didn't tell me. How was the banquet?" (Grant elaborated) "Sorry again that I couldn't make it sweetheart." (said with an "I'm sorry, but I'll make it up to you later" tone)

"Um…it was…fun." (she said her eyes darting beyond him, not wanting him to pick up on the fact that had gotten wasted…oh yeah, and that she had almost kissed her partner)

"I could have guessed that…your friends looked like they had had their fair share of alcohol" (Grant said thinking that when Angela had answered the door, looking disheveled as she did, that she was working off the effects of a wild night) "Were you letting them stay here so they wouldn't have to drive home" (he asks, completely unaware that it was the other way around)

"Um…well I mean, we had all seen a fair share of booze" (she says with a nervous smile) "but yeah, I let them stay here" (she didn't want him to know that they were in fact taking care of her in her drunken state)

"Hey, how about I make it up to you tonight? Take you out to that nice little café we discovered last week?" (he asks with a seductive tone) "Then, we can head back here for…a little nightcap." (he says it in a low provocative purr, that would have most girls eating out of the palm of his hand, but for some reason, Brennan isn't really in the mood, but, she plays along anyway)

"Sure." (the truth was, she didn't want to go _anywhere_. All she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and never have to leave this apartment again)

"Oh and by the way, I almost forgot, we need to finalize our flight reservations with the airline. So…when would you want to do that?"

"I don't know. Uh, could we do it later, though, I have a bit of a headache and I don't want to deal with them right now." (truth was, she was just stalling, because as soon as she finalized their travel plans, then the reality that she was leaving would become all too real)

"Sure thing. All right, I'm going to head to bed, take in a nap. Unless, you want to join me in bed"

"Um, not right now. There are just a few things I have to do first" (usually, she'd be very open to having sex with her boyfriend and now was as good a time as any, but she just wasn't in the mood)

"Kay, well I'll see you when I see you" (he kissed her and then headed off to the bedroom)

[Brennan watched as he disappeared behind the mahogany door. Grant…was a good guy, he really was. He was the guy that little girls dreamed of marrying so why wasn't she more thrilled about them starting a life together? _Because…because _She immediately stifled the little voice in her head that was threatening to finish that thought. It was funny, however, how that voice was beginning to sound more and more like Angela and it was funny that no matter how many times she tried to ignore it, it would always keep coming back, like a mental boomerang. The fact of the matter was, though, that she already knew what that little voice was going to say. She had let that little voice dictate her action before and it led to nothing but emotional turmoil. She couldn't let it happen again. She sighed and buried her face into her hands. What was she doing? She was allowing herself to be caught in the same cycle again. This just cemented in her mind that she had to leave, had to start anew, because even if everybody here thought that they had her pegged, nobody really knew the real Temperance Brennan and if they did…they certainly would not like what they saw.]

[At the Hoover]

[Booth sat there in his office, contemplating over what had just happened in the hallway. For some reason, he felt that Brennan was just about to say something important; something that could redefine the meaning of their relationship. Then, out of **nowhere**, Grant comes in and intrudes on **their** moment. Guess he couldn't really blame the guy. After all, Brennan was **his** girlfriend; Booth had no claim on her. He'd given up any claim as soon as he embraced Hannah when she came into the diner. God….he regrets that now. But now…what's done is done and he has to find a way to reverse the last four months since they'd been back and find a way to make it clear to Brennan that _**he**_ was the guy for her. He tilted his head back and sighed when he heard knocking. He looked to his door and there was Cam, offering a friendly smile.]

"Am I interrupting something? I can come back you know."

"No…no, its nothing Cam. So…what's up? Why you here?"

"What, I can't visit my friend at his office without a reason" (at Booth's knowing glance, she continues) "But…now that you mention it. I was just a bit curious as to why you weren't at the banquet. Brennan told us that you were going to be escorting her and...I'm a little surprised that you'd give up an opportunity to spend time with her. Especially when she's so close to leaving."

[Booth all of a sudden begins to stammer]

"Well…uh. You know, just busy with…stuff."

[Cam decides to prod a little bit]

"Girlfriend stuff?" (she asks with an inflection in her tone)

"No, work stuff. Actually, there's not gonna be anymore girlfriend stuff…Hannah and I broke up."

"Really. Why? I thought you had a good thing going."

"Well…it was good, but…it just wasn't right. You know?"

"Would it have anything to do with why Brennan showed up to the banquet all weird and….thirsty" (she puts an emphasis on the "thirsty" part)

"Um…no" (he lies through his teeth) "I don't know why Bones would be…thirsty"

[Cam can tell that he's covering something up]

"Okay seriously Seeley, spill it. I know you're hiding something." (at his uncomfortable glance downwards) "Something happened, didn't it." (when he looks up to the ceiling and smacks his lips in an awkward manner) "Oh my god…you kissed her, didn't you."

[Suddenly Booth goes on the defensive]

"No, no. We…we didn't okay, she ran off before anything happened." (he grimaces when he realizes that he had let too much slip.)

[Cam gasps and goes wide-eyed]

"So…something almost happened?" (at his continued silence) "Seeley" (she says in the tone that a mother scolding her child would use)

"Yes, okay!" (he practically yells while rising from his chair, arms upraised) "Yes, we almost…" (he struggles to say it) "We almost…kissed."

"And then?"

"And then…I don't know. You know, I leaned in and then she leaned in and then…she bolted."

"Seeley" (Cam was shaking her head) "you have to talk to her about it."

"You don't think I know that. I just tried to. But…Grant came in at the wrong moment and carted her off." (he falls back into his seat with a heavy, defeated sigh) "Its just I thought I was over her, I thought I had made myself a new life, and then…that moment in…the closet, and…" (he trails off, exasperated)

"Seeley…can I offer some advice?" (Cam says in a soft friendly tone)

"Sure thing Camille."

"Get your head out of your ass." (she says demandingly)

[He looks up surprised at his friend's impatient tone]

"I have seen you two dance around each other for years, and I thought that after you guys came back, it would be clear to you what you needed to do in your relationship. But, apparently, that isn't the case. Sure…you can try to move on, you _tried _to move one. You can even lie to yourself and say that you have, but, the **truth** is that no matter what you do. No matter how hard you try, you're always going to find your way back to her. No other woman is going to compare to the standard that she's set for you. Only she can. If you continue down this path of lying to yourself about what it is that you want…then you're never going to be happy. You're always going to think about her, even when you're with someone else. So…in a nutshell, grow a pair and **fight for your girl!**" (Camille took a deep breath at the end of her rant before adding an exhausted sounding) "Before you lose her forever…. okay?"

[Booth just sat there, his mouth agape. Was there a point to what Camille was saying? Were all of his attempts to move on from Brennan futile? Did he just need to face facts and realize that he loved Bones and no matter how hard he tried to move on from her, he was always going to find himself in the same position? He looked back over the past few months and realized that…Cam was absolutely right. Even when he was with Hannah, he was constantly curious about how Bones was spending her time, whether she was alone or spending the night with Grant. He also realized the fact that he only acted like a real boyfriend to Hannah whenever Brennan was around. He would only put his arm around her or kiss her when Bones was present as an audience. Oh god…. was that really what he had been doing? Was his entire relationship with Hannah built around trying to evoke a reaction from Brennan? He gravitated on the second aspect of Cam's little speech. Was it all really that simple? Was it just that he needed to grow a pair? Yeah it was. Yes he did]

"How do I do that?" (he said in a low plea)

"You tell her that you need her in your life and…not just as a partner. As something more." (Cam said in a deep monotone. Frankly she was frustrated that she had to point out something so obvious)

"But…I tried that before. She just turned me down."

"Then…you try again. And if it doesn't work, you try **again**. Sorry to tell you Seeley, but pride isn't really a factor anymore."

"Kay…but I need to find a way to tell her. I can't have Grant or anyone else for that matter bursting in. it needs to be private"

"Well…we're having a farewell party for her in a few days at Hodgins and Angela's…estate…mansion? Their _place _(she says giving up on trying to find a word to describe Hodgins and Angela's enormous residence). Why don't you try there?"

"At a party, Camille? I not sure you grasp the concept of private." (he said a little mockingly)

"I'll make sure you guys can have some privacy. (not appreciating the tone he had taken with her) "I mean their house has more rooms than the White House" (she states sarcastically, although it very well might be true)

"Okay" (Booth says with a determined nod)

[It was time that he finally stopped dancing around Bones. He felt a newly found fervor grow inside him. Cam was right, it was finally time that he fought for her.]


	13. The Pooper at the Party

Kay, so first, I was going to go straight to Brennan's going away party, but then I had this awesome idea for a scene that had to be put before the party. Actually it had to be put before Hannah and Booth broke up and before Grant even came along, but seeing as I don't want to mess with the continuity anymore than I have, I'm going to include it as a flashback in this scene. And also, I decided it was better to build up the tension a little bit before jumping to the party.

Oh and on that note, has everyone read "Spat on the Forensics Platform", because I actually posted that one after "Mirage on the Mattress", but since it was chronologically earlier, I put it before. Also, what about "Girl with the Hangover", because I don't think it notified everyone when I posted it. So…if you haven't read either one, please do, and let me know what you think.

So, for a little background on this, Booth comes back with Hannah. Of course, Brennan is heartbroken and doesn't seem to want to hang out with Booth, because of the pain. However, Brennan soon meets this good looking, successful economics professor, Grant Wylde (portrayed by Bailey Chase), who is originally from Austin, TX, but moved to Washington, DC to advance his career. Eventually, they become serious and Booth, still not completely over Brennan (although he won't admit that to himself), displays classic signs of jealousy (sort of like Sully 2.0). Then, Grant asks Brennan to move back to Texas with him and Brennan, thinking she has lost Booth forever, agrees to go. Oh and for those who are curious, Brennan has secured a job in Austin, heading up the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! The characters and story lines of Bones belong to FOX, not me. Except for Grant, Grant is mine. So, (drum roll please) on with the scene

* * *

[Booth was sitting, alone, in the middle of his living room, a glass of scotch in hand. He was just sitting there contemplating how he had gotten here. Well…he knew how he had gotten here, he just didn't know why he hadn't taken control before know. Why hadn't he taken the reins and changed the course that his partnership, his friendship, his love were all headed towards. When did it get like this? When did he and Bones go days without seeing each other and find it completely awkward when they did come face to face? The truth was he knew when it all started; it all started that day in the diner when Hannah walked in and threw her arms around him. That was when he practically gave Brennan permission to go with Grant.]

[And now, here he was, sitting alone in his apartment, holding out hope that he could convince her to stay for him. He should have known that it would end up like this. He thought back on a moment that Brennan, in her own way, had practically told him that she was uncomfortable with their growing distance between them, but he had been too consumed in himself, in his _new _life that he didn't pay it any heed.]

[It was about three and a half months ago, before Grant was even in the picture. It was his birthday and everyone had decided to gather at the Founding Fathers for drinks. His mind drifted back to that night, the night that may have cost him Brennan forever.]

[A crowd of people was huddled into the bar. Among them were the usual suspects, Cam, Caroline, Sweets, Daisy, Clark, Hannah, and himself. All they were waiting on was the arrival of Hodgins, Angela, and of course…Brennan.]

"Where are they?" (Hannah demanded in an impatient tone) "They're late."

"Hannah, come on, be patient, they'll be here" (Booth placated, although he wasn't sure. Brennan had said earlier that she was tired and might not be too inclined to spend the night out)

"Well, maybe they should have tried being here, oh I don't know, about thirty-five minutes ago?"

"Just…be a little patient. They're probably on their way."

"Yeah. I mean Angela always likes to make an entrance by showing up _fashionably_ late. Maybe this time she's just taken Brennan and Hodgins hostage until she decides to show." (Cam sputters without thinking. It was obvious that she had already had a margarita or two)

[As if by magic, all three of the missing squints could be seen through the glass doors. Before they were even inside the bar, Booth just took a second and took in the sight of Brennan. _She's beautiful_, he remembered thinking. Her hair was done in a loose ponytail, while her bangs framed her face before ending in delicate curls that cascaded down her cheeks, only allowing a little of her silver disk earrings to show through. Her skin looked like pale silk, which was contrasted by dark raspberry lipstick. She was donned in a black wool-cashmere belted coat that complimented her figure. Well Hannah must have caught him staring, because he heard her clear her throat and he was snapped out of his fixed gaze.]

"Ugh…sorry we're late, everyone. You know what the say, beauty takes time" (Angela apologized to everyone for their collective tardiness as her husband helped her out of her coat, revealing her red party dress underneath)

(When Hodgins reached for Brennan to hand him her coat, however, the scientist seemed hesitant to take hers off)

"Oh come on, Bren." (Angela pleaded with her friend, Brennan hesitantly complied)

[Hodgins helped Brennan out of her coat, revealing something much more interesting beneath. There she was, clad in a sleeveless navy blue cocktail dress with a scoop neckline; it fluttered loosely about the top portion of her body before being tapered by a wide black belt with a pilgrim style buckle and then continuing in a much tighter fit along her hips and legs, showing of her toned backside and flaunting the length of her legs. It ended just above her knees]

[Every male in that room had a sharp intake of breath. Booth practically fainted. Daisy slapped Sweet's chest when she noticed his ogling. Hannah, who picked up on the dumbstruck look that hit Booths face, just glanced between him and Brennan with a knowing glare. After they broke up, Hannah had told Booth that that night was when her suspicions had started. Brennan turned to the crowd of people assembled and gave everyone an awkward greeting smile and a robotic-looking wave]

"Okay, well, since everyone's here the party can now _officially _begin." (Hannah said as the three took their places at the bar.)

[From then on, the evening progressed as normally. Booth, Cam, Hannah, and Sweets had fashioned their own little clique and situated themselves at one of the rounded tables; while Hodgins, Angela, Daisy, and Caroline had congregated themselves at a corner of the bar. Brennan sat with the latter of the two groups; however, she was a less than active participant in the conversation they were having. She just sat there, sipping her second…maybe third cocktail and just looking into the glass as if trying to find something at the bottom. Booth couldn't help but steal little glances at her, a look of sympathetic concern coloring his face. When she escorted herself over to the other end of the bar in order to get the bartender's attention, he finally excused himself from the table he was just at and made his way over to her.]

"So…what's up, Bones?" (he came in from the side, placing his beer on the bar with a clank)

"Oh hey, Booth; happy birthday, by the way. Sorry I didn't say it before." (she said with a calculated tone, almost as if she was trying to avoid getting into a conversation)

"Ah…it's no problem, Bones. You're here, that's what counts." (he smiled endearingly)

(She smiled at the sincerity of his comment before saying) "I mean…it is your birthday. How could I miss it?"

"Glad you made it, Bones." (he looked at her with a smile)

[They continue to look at each other for a second, his smile fades and he takes in a deep breath when she looks back at him, the light cerulean of her eyes threatening to bore directly into his soul.]

"Bones, I…" (he starts in a strained voice, but the moment is interrupted when Hannah comes over)

"Hey there!" (She comes in, looping her arm through Booth's elbow. She looks between the two of them before adding) "Dr. Brennan….I didn't get the chance to tell you earlier, but that dress looks amazing." (she says with a smile)

"Oh…thank you, Hannah. You look very nice yourself." (she says once she snaps back to reality)

"Thank you." (she turns to Booth) "I've been looking for you, we're about to bring out the birthday cake."

"Um…can it wait a minute?" (Booth says) "I just, I wanted to talk to Bones for a minute." (Hannah pulls a face at this, finding it weird how attached he was to his partner. Brennan looked a little surprised too.)

"You guys can talk after. Come on, the wax is going to melt if you don't get over there." (she says practically pulling him by his elbow)

[He's looks back at Brennan while he's being torn away.]

[Once the candles were blown out and everyone had claimed a piece of cake and taken it back to their own little spots, like a pack of wolves devouring freshly killed prey, Booth looked around the bar for Brennan. He finally spotted her, she stood next to Angela, her coat in hand; some sort of conversation was happening, but he was too far away to tell what was being said. As far as his lip-reading skills were considered, Brennan was saying something along the lines of _"I'll be fine, Ange. I'll see you later."_. Was she leaving? It was then that he saw her make her way to the door. She was. After watching her make her way out of the bar, he followed her outside. He caught up with her next to the bus stop, her hand in the air, hailing a passing taxicab.]

"Don't tell me you were just going to slip away without so much as a goodbye." (he said, feigning disappointment)

(She turned around, startled at his sudden presence) "Oh…uh…you seemed busy. I didn't want to intrude."

"Bones, I'm never too busy for you." (he said unsure of what he was trying say with that statement)

(There's silence for a moment before she says) "Booth, go back inside; enjoy your party. Everyone's in there for you." (she says pleadingly)

"Bones is something…wrong?" (he says with the same sense of worry as before)

"What?…No Booth, nothing's wrong. I'm just tired. And, I shouldn't drink when I'm tired, because…it just makes me more tired."

[He nods along but doesn't really believe what she's saying. They watch as the taxi pulls up and he's caught off guard when she comes up and hugs him with her one free hand and gives him a quick peck on the cheek.]

"Goodbye Booth." (it comes out as a pained almost-whisper in his ear; something inside told him that she didn't just mean goodbye for the evening)

[He just stands there as she opens the car door. She's about to get into the taxi when she stops herself, turns to him and says.]

"You know…you were right about me." (at his confused expression, she adds) "when we first met….I am just a cold fish." (she says with a sad, defeated tone, he's too stupefied to say anything before she adds) "Maybe…I should work on that." (she gets into the car without another word)

[The taxi drives off into the darkness. He watched as it carried her off…again. He unconsciously took a few steps into the street and before he knew it he was standing in the middle of the road. He saw her turn her face to look at him and, at the time he chalked up to the effects of alcohol playing tricks on his mind, but he could have sworn he saw that her eyes were glassed over with tears, threatening to fall. How many times was he going to let this happen? How many times was he going to let her ride away from him?]

[With that thought, Booth snaps back to the present moment. He sighs and falls back into his couch cushions with a thud. He just hoped that this time, he wouldn't let history repeat itself…again.]

[At Brennan's apartment]

"Tempe, sweetheart, where are my car keys?" (Grant asks, frantically searching all over the apartment)

"Uh…I think you left them next to the sink. Why?"

"Oh I just have to attend to something at work for a little bit…but…" (he adds with a low seductive tone while placing his arms around her) "I'll be back in time to take you out for dinner."

"Okay." (Brennan smiled. She had to admit, it was great having someone faun over her for a change. She had needed that, but she couldn't help but think….something was missing.)

(All of a sudden, Grant's face dons a much more serious visage) "Have you told anyone yet?" (he asks in a more somber tone than the one he had just used)

(A mixed mien of fear and surprise at the question appears across Brennan's face) "Um…no, not yet."

"Tempe…" (Grant begins)

"I know, I know, I'm sorry….but its just such big news, I don't want to just spring it on all of them." (Brennan tries to explain)

"Well…when do you think you'll tell them? At the airport?" (Grant reasons, unable to understand why she hadn't told anyone)

"No….at…at my farewell party." (she offers) "We'll make an announcement there."

"Okay…you know, just a thought, but, it might be a little easier to explain to them if you wore your ring." (Grant added that little side note before palming his keys and walking out the door)

[Brennan watched him leave. As soon as he was gone, she walked over to the countertop where she left her purse. She dug around until she found it and once she pulled it out of her bag, she took a minute to look at it, running it through her fingers as if to put it through some sort of analysis. It was stunning really, with a white gold band and a round, princess-cut diamond. It was a ring, the ring that Grant had given her when he asked her to move away with him, the ring that she had promised to wear; and it was the ring that she had been hiding from everyone ever since.]

* * *

Hey…yeah sorry for that ending, please don't hate me. Like I said…TENSION! And, hey, it's more motivation for Booth to get it in gear.


	14. The Secret in the Song

All right guys, stay with me now. I know I left you hanging with a pretty depressing revelation last chapter and some of you are getting a little impatient with Booth, but don't worry I have it all mapped out in my head. We just have a few more plot twists to get through…and I think you'll really like this one.

So, for a little background on this, Booth comes back with Hannah. Of course, Brennan is heartbroken and doesn't seem to want to hang out with Booth, because of the pain. However, Brennan soon meets this good looking, successful economics professor, Grant Wylde (portrayed by Bailey Chase), who is originally from Austin, TX, but moved to Washington, DC to advance his career. Eventually, they become serious and Booth, still not completely over Brennan (although he won't admit that to himself), displays classic signs of jealousy (sort of like Sully 2.0). Then, Grant asks Brennan to move back to Texas with him and Brennan, thinking she has lost Booth forever, agrees to go. Oh and for those who are curious, Brennan has secured a job in Austin, heading up the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! The characters and story lines of Bones belong to FOX, and…you'll find out why I'm saying this as you read the chapter, but I don't claim any ownership over the music or image of She & Him, Zooey Deschanel, or M. Ward either. None of it belongs to me. Except for Grant, Grant is mine. So, (drum roll please) on with the scene

* * *

[Cologne…check. Shirt…check. Jacket, pants, belt…check. **Nerve**…check. Booth looked at a freshly showered and groomed man in the mirror; a man who one would never guess was such a nervous wreck on the inside. This was ridiculous. Since when did a girl make him nervous? "Since Bones", he thought, "since he met the right one", his mind answered for him. Tonight was Bones' going away party, the night that he had been both dreading, because it signified her coming departure, and waiting for, because it was the night he was going to try and win her back. He scoffed at that last thought. Win her back? That implied that she was his to begin with. No…tonight was the night that he was going to finally show her that he was hers and that he wanted to make her his. It was tonight or never; her plane was leaving Monday, a mere two days from now. He glanced at his watch, it was already 7:30, he had to leave soon, he wanted to get there before Brennan did, plan out what he was going to do, what to say. He didn't want to waste any time. He grabbed his keys and headed for the door.]

[At Hodgins' house]

[Angela flitted about in a frenzy, showing the caterers where to set themselves up, making sure that there were enough tables on the patio, checking microphone and equipment on the stage. Yes, they were having live music; only the best for her best friends going away party. God, that combination of words killed her inside. "Her best friends going away." Part of her wanted to cancel this whole thing, because…because it meant that Brennan was really going through with it. That she was starting a new life away from all of them. She liked Grant, she really did; he had paid attention to her when she had needed it the most, made her feel like she was wanted by someone. She just hated the fact that he was taking her away from them, forever. And she couldn't help but wonder if Brennan was about build a life with the wrong man. Brennan belonged with Booth; Angela knew that from the beginning, but…something had gone wrong. Someone had thrown a wrench into the works of fate and destiny. It seriously made Angela question the past six years. Had she read something wrong? Were those two really _just partners_, and that would be all they ever were? She was lost in this train of thought when her husband snuck up behind her]

"Now…what is going through that head of yours?" (he purred into her ear, while wrapping his hands around her waist)

"Hm…nothing." (she says in a completely unbelievable tone)

"Yeah, sure there isn't." (he says sarcastically, not buying her lie)

(She sighs before coming clean) "It's just…this whole thing…Brennan's actually leaving. And it's not for a month or a year this time. Its for good." (she says in melancholy timbre)

(this time he sighs) "I know, honey. But, it's not up to us what she does or how she does it. We have to support her, even if it kills us to. This is what she wants." (he says trying to make his wife understand their duty as friends of the soon to be missed Brennan)

"That's just it though…I don't really think its what she wants. I think…I think she feels like she has to do this, like she is being driven to it. I think she's just waiting for something to tether her here."

"Angie…even if that's true…what would drive her into leaving?"

"I don't know. I just know…it had to be something bad."

"Okay, let's just…let's focus on tonight. Okay? Did you book that musician that Daisy was bothering you about?"

"Well…yeah. I don't know why she was so insistent about it, though."

"It's Daisy. Who knows why she does the things she does? I doubt even Sweets does."

(Angela laughs at that. Well, she guessed it was time to bite the bullet. If this is what Brennan really wanted, then she was going to back her friend 100%)

[The backyard of the Hodgins estate began to teem with people as guests flooded in to say goodbye to Brennan. Most of them were employees of the Jeffersonian, upset that they were about to lose one of their most precious commodities. Others were employees of the FBI, coming to bid farewell to a woman who had assisted them on countless cases. Her friends, of course were among the crowd; Cam, Caroline, Angela, Hodgins, Sweets, and a few various squinterns had all congregated to a select number of tables, attracted to each other like magnets. Wendell, Daisy, Sweets, Caroline, Arastoo, Nigel, and Fisher had situated themselves at the farther of the two tables, Cam, Angela, and Hodgins had seated themselves at the nearer.]

(Angela looked impatient in her forest green evening gown, her hair done up in a Roman-style bun. She glances at her gold Cartier watch) "Where is Booth?" (she demanded) "If he doesn't hurry up, he won't be here till Brennan leaves."

"He's probably on his way." (Cam said placating her friend)

"Did Hannah break a nail or something?" (she spat, not even hiding her distaste for the woman)

"Well, even if she did. It's none of Booth's concern anymore. They broke up." (Cam explained)

"Wait, seriously?" (Angela pulled an unbelieving face) "Why…and how do you know this?"

"He's my friend, he tells me things. And…he said it just wasn't right."

[Angela pondered this for a moment] "Does Brennan know about this?

"I don't know…I don't think so." (Cam said, not wanting to give away Booth's plans to steal Brennan away from Grant)

"Hey do you guys mind if I come sit over here?" (Caroline said as she strolled over, obviously being pestered by the squinterns and Sweets at the other table) "If I have to hear Daisy talk about how she beat up those guerillas at the dig one more time…"

"Hey Caroline…did you hear anything about Booth breaking things off with Hannah?" (Angela enquired, interrupting Caroline's rambling)

"What…he did….That _stupid_ _boy_." (Caroline said with a sense of quiet anger)

[Angela, Cam, and Hodgins pinched their faces, confused. Angela was just about to prod why Caroline would react that way when she was interrupted by a deep, booming, familiar voice. A voice she hadn't heard in a long time]

"Well, well, if it isn't Ms. Montenegro or should I say Mrs. Hodgins."

(Angela whipped her head around and standing behind her was one Dr. Daniel Goodman with his wife)

(Angela let out an excited squeal) "Dr. Goodman. Oh my god, we thought you had vanished off the face of the earth!" (she said enveloping him in a hug)

[Hodgins rose from his seat to shake Goodman's hand]

"Now, do you honestly believe I wouldn't come out of hiding to say goodbye to my favorite employee…excluding you of course." (he said jovially)

"Well we're glad you made it." (said Hodgins)

"Oh my god. Is that Goodman?" (Booth said as he came out of nowhere, looking good in a Versace navy suit, his suit jacket unbuttoned, showing his blue and white striped dress shirt underneath. The top buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing the length of his neck)

"Yes, Agent Booth, yes it is." (Goodman said, extending his hand to the agent)

"Where have you been?" (asked Booth)

"All over." (Goodman stated with a booming laugh)

"Well it is good to see you. " (then he turned his attention onto the others at the table) "Hey, has Bones come yet?"

"No Seeley she hasn't." (Cam said with a knowing smile. Caroline, however, looked at him and shook her head. Cam couldn't help but find that a little weird)

[Brennan and Grant arrived at the front door. She was wearing a white, double-breasted jacket with large black buttons, arranged in two columns from her upper chest down to the coat's termination. Her hair was done in a schoolgirl fashion, with only the top and sides tied back, while the rest was allowed to cascade down to her shoulders. Grant was looking debonair in a Ralph Lauren charcoal stripe suit with a blue, white, and grey striped tie]

"Ready to go in, Tempe." (Grant said as they reached the door, unaware that Brennan's attention was caught by something else, a patch of white carnations. Once he spotted her admiring the flowers, he called for her attention) "Honey…what are you doing?"

"Oh…sorry." (Brennan said, being snapped out of the trance the flowers had brought on) "It's just that, my mother and I loved carnations. We had different tastes when it came to what to put in our garden when I was a kid. My favorite was daffodils and she wanted to plant her favorite, tulips, but we both loved carnations, so we finally settled on them. Planting those flowers is one of the best memories I have with my mother. You know, she always used to say that white carnations were a symbol of true love and good luck." (Brennan said wistfully, liking the flood of childhood images that came to her mind)

"Sweetheart…I would love to hear all about it later, but now, there are people inside waiting for us." (Grant tried to hurry her along)

(Brennan was about to comply, but then she had an idea) "Hold on." (She said, digging into her black, sequin clutch. Finally, she pulled out a bobby pin.)

[Handing her clutch off to Grant, she grabbed one of the carnation blossoms and pulled it off of the stem with a muffled snap. In one swift move, she fastened the flower into her hair using the pin and rearranged her hair to make it look more natural.]

"Oh and you don't think Jack and Angela are going to notice that you have a piece of their garden in your hair?" (he said in an sarcastic tone; at that Brennan just shrugged)

"Come on." (he gestured toward the door)

[In the backyard, everyone was awaiting the arrival of the guests of honor and finally, they arrived. Brennan and Grant found their way to the patio and that is where Angela spotted them and pointed them out to the rest of the table. Booth turned his attention away from what Goodman was saying and looked to her, he was breathless at the sight of her. Brennan had already shed her jacket, revealing the dress she was wearing underneath. She was wearing an off-the shoulder, sleeved black dress that hugged every curve, displaying her sylph-like figure. The dress began in a neckline that went straight along the upper part of her chest and continued the length of her body finally terminating in a slanted hemline just above her knees. Cam nudged Booth with her leg in an attempt to let him know that he should make his staring less obvious. He looked down to his friend and gave her a pleading look. Cam sighed and rose from her table]

"Excuse me everyone, I'm going to go say hi to the guests of honor." (she said shooting some sort of look toward Booth)

[Cam walked over to where Grant and Brennan were standing.]

"Dr. Brennan, Grant, nice to see you guys." (she said giving Brennan a hug and nodding toward Grant)

"Hey Cam." (Brennan said)

"Brennan, you look…gorgeous. And Grant, you don't look too bad yourself."

"Same thing to you Dr. Saroyan," (Grant said with a pleasant greeting smile)

"Okay well Angela told me that the musical talent is going to be starting up soon, we were just waiting on your arrival. But, actually, before we get things rolling, Grant, there's actually someone I want you to meet, a friend of mine. I believe he went to your alma mater. Oh that is, if Brennan doesn't mind me stealing you away for a second." (she said looking to Brennan, who just shrugged, giving her permission)

(As Cam led Grant away, she sent a look to Booth signaling, "Get your girl". Booth of course swooped in as soon as Grant was out of sight)

"Hey, Bones." (he says coming in from the side)

"Oh, hey Booth." (she says with a smile)

"Wow that is, that is one great looking dress, Bones."

"Oh um, thank you. I know its not Nicole Miller, but it, ah, it does the trick." (she says running her hands along the fabric of her dress) "So, uh, where's Hannah?"

"I, uh, I don't know." (at her confused expression, he adds) "We broke up."

"Really, but she uh, she came to DC…for you." (she says part confused, part inquiring, and partly knowing the reason)

"Well, yeah, but I mean, I think it wouldn't be fair if I only stayed in the relationship because I felt obligated to her." (he says looking to her with serious eyes)

"So…it was you who ended things?" (she asked already knowing the answer)

"Yeah"

"Well I'm sorry Booth. I…I know you really liked her." (she says awkwardly)

"I did, but…I needed to end things, because…you see there's something else." (he caught her gaze and held it) "Something I didn't count on, something I thought I had forgotten, but didn't." (at that last part, Brennan took in a sharp breath) "Bones, I…" (he started, but was interrupted when)

"Oh my god, oh my god, Dr. Brennan!" (Daisy squealed as she made her way over) "Oh thank god you're here. I've got a huge surprise for you. Sorry Agent Booth, I just need to borrow her for a second." (she said as she pulled Brennan away, regardless of the doctor's apparent hesitance)

[Booth stared after her as the annoyingly chipper Daisy carted her off and away from him. The only thought that went through his head was _Goddamn it_]

[Daisy led Brennan off to where the stage was set up. As they neared it, Brennan could see a familiar figure emerge, the figure of someone she hadn't seen in years. _Oh my god_, she thought, _it can't be_. When the figure smiled at her she was overjoyed]

"Oh my god, Matt. How have you been?" (she said hugging her old friend)

"I'm good T. I'd ask how you're life turned out, but I can see from the looks of it that it turned out pretty well." (he said with a smile)

[Back where Booth was standing, he was too busy looking in the direction of the stage where Brennan stood that he didn't notice when Cam appeared next to him]

"So…Grant's talking to my friend….where's Brennan?" (she asked when she noticed the doctor wasn't with him)

[Booth was about to answer when he was cut off by the sound of Daisy speaking into the microphone]

"Okay everyone, so it's time to get this ball rolling and what better way than with music." (she said with a chipper smile) "So, I don't know if you all know this, but not so long ago, Dr. Brennan here was in a little band called Him & Her with the musician standing to my right, Mr. Matthew Word."

"Brennan was in a band?" (Cam asked Booth unbelievingly; Booth just shrugged not knowing what the hell Daisy was talking about) "Did you know?" (she asked)

"No…uh no, I didn't."

"Anyway" (Daisy continued into the microphone) "I thought, what better entertainment to have at Dr. Brennan's own going away party than Dr. Brennan herself." (suddenly Brennan's face donned a look of surprise and hesitation when Daisy gestured for her to come up onto the stage)

"Come on, Dr. Brennan" (Daisy pleaded)

[Suddenly a large, raucous applause is heard from the audience. Along with a "Come on, do it!" from a very excited Angela. Brennan, therefore, is left with no choice but to comply. When she gets up on stage, she says into the microphone]

"So…uh, any requests?"

"How about _Dream a Little Dream of Me_!" (shouts Angela from the audience; she is both surprised and overjoyed at learning this new tidbit about her friend, as well as a little annoyed that Brennan chose to hide it from her all these years)

"Okay." (Brennan says and gives a nod to Matt)

[All of a sudden, he brings out his guitar and starts playing the melody to the song, which is soon followed by some stunningly beautiful vocals from Brennan. Upon hearing her singing, almost the entire crowds' jaws drop, Booth's especially. He never knew she could sing like that. Sure he had heard her sing before, but that was just her belting out _Girls Just Want to Have Fun _or _Hot Blooded_. This was her actually trying to sing, and it was…amazing. Once she was done with the first song, she asked the crowd]

"Are there any more requests?" (the audience was too stunned to ask for another song) "Really, no more?" (then Brennan hears Matt chime in.)

"You know T, if we're going to perform for them, we might as well **put a spell on them**" (he says stressing those last few words)

[Brennan, getting the code he is using, dons a mischievous smile and nods to him. He pulls out an electric guitar that had been sitting with the rest of his equipment. All of a sudden, some sort of switch is flipped and Brennan is transformed from the meek wallflower she had been before into a brash, sexy vixen. As the first chords are struck, she flashes the crowd a pair of "fuck-me eyes" and breathes seductively into the microphone. She then starts to sing _I Put a Spell on You_ in such a provocative, bewitching manner that every man in that audience is turned to putty. Booth's blood pressure spikes as a result.]

[Brennan agrees to play one more song when an encore is demanded at the end of the one she just sang, and...she thinks she knows which one she wants to play. She searches the crowd for Booth and finally locks eyes with him. He looks…surprised, shocked, amazed, and dumbstruck. He looks back into her gaze, knowing that she is concentrating on him, before she breaks the stare by turning back to Matt and whispering in his ear the song she wants to play.]

[The first chords of the song are struck on his guitar and then Brennan breaks into singing _Bring it on Home to Me_. "_It's beautiful, it's amazing, it's….familiar_". These are the thoughts that enter Booth's head as he hears her sing…._"Oh my god"_…Suddenly, everything around him seems to fade away, every sound becomes muffled, except for her voice.]

"Seeley, are you okay?" (Cam asks him, but he can't seem to register her question)

[He stumbles and turns in the other direction, walking away in a trance. _"Oh my god…It's her"_ he thinks. It is her. It was her all along. Bones was that girl, the girl he had heard on the radio, the girl that made him fall in love with that song. She was the girl he had been searching for for eight years.]

* * *

Okay, I know that She & Him is Zooey, not Emily, but I just thought it would be really interesting to combine the two, and bring the aspects of the other Deschanel sister, Zooey, into Brennan's character. I am actually a big fan of her music; I think Zooey has the most amazing voice. Naturally, I DO NOT CLAIM ANY OWNERSHIP OVER SHE & HIM OR THEIR MUSIC.

Also, I thought it would be a great plot twist, how Brennan had this secret life as a musician, which Booth never knew about, and not only that, but that she was the girl he heard on the radio, too. It shows that maybe Booth doesn't know Brennan as well as he thinks he does.


	15. the Girl that Got Away

Okay, some of you might not like me at the end of this scene, but trust me, you'll **love** me by story's end. Just one more thing for them to get through, well really its more of a culmination of a lot of things, but you'll see. Everything happens eventually. In the words of Gordon Gordon have a little "hope and patience"

So, for a little background on this, Booth comes back with Hannah. Of course, Brennan is heartbroken and doesn't seem to want to hang out with Booth, because of the pain. However, Brennan soon meets this good looking, successful economics professor, Grant Wylde (portrayed by Bailey Chase), who is originally from Austin, TX, but moved to Washington, DC to advance his career. Eventually, they become serious and Booth, still not completely over Brennan (although he won't admit that to himself), displays classic signs of jealousy (sort of like Sully 2.0). Then, Grant asks Brennan to move back to Texas with him and Brennan, thinking she has lost Booth forever, agrees to go. Oh and for those who are curious, Brennan has secured a job in Austin, heading up the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! The characters and story lines of Bones belong to FOX, not me. Except for Grant, Grant is mine. So, (drum roll please) on with the scene

* * *

[He was still in a state of shock when the band had stopped playing. He was sitting, alone, on a deserted divan in an empty library that he had discovered. _Oh my god_, that thought still repeating itself through his mind like a broken record. It was her. Bones was the girl. Bones was the girl that he had heard on that radio in Afghanistan eight years ago, years before they had met for real. She was the girl that beckoned him home; made him feel as if he had someone to go home to. She was the girl that he had consumed his fantasies; that he had visualized building a life and a family with long before they had actually met, long before he had had that coma dream. He started to think to think about that dream again. What if, what if that dream was his brains way of telling him that Bones was the one he'd been searching for? What if he had subconsciously known and his brain hadn't really registered it yet? He was telling the truth when he said that he had searched for her. He basically launched his own investigation. He tried to find out the name of the show…dead end. He asked his fellow servicemen if they had ever listened to the show or to the voice of the mysterious girl that was brought onto it…another dead end. Eventually he had given up, abandoning all hope of finding her…and here she was right under his nose for **six years**. And what about Bones; had she known when he told her the story about the girl who he had fallen in love with, only after hearing her voice. She had to have known, she looked right at him right when they started playing the sons. Why hadn't she said anything? _Oh my god_…_I really don't know her. I don't know her at all._ Those are the last thoughts that entered his mind, before he silently rose from the couch and walked back out into the backyard]

[In the backyard, Brennan had just descended the stage when she was overcome by a very eccentric Angela.]

"Okay, Sweetie. You, come with me, now!" Angela said grabbing her arm and practically dragging her over to their table.

"Well if it isn't Dinah Shore." Hodgins joked as Angela came with Brennan in toe.

"Yeah seriously Dr. Brennan, that was amazing." Said a very impressed looking Sweets.

"Thank you, Sweets." She said awkwardly, she wasn't really used to getting compliments

"Why didn't you tell us that **you** were in a band?" (Angela demanded, before continuing) "Or that you were **that good**?" she said in an unbelieving tone.

"I just, I didn't want you guys to think any differently if me." She said, offering an explanation for her hoarding that giant secret.

"Um, Dr. Brennan" (Wendell chimes in) "I think the only thing that that little tidbit would do is make us think that you are just a little more awesome than we thought." He says with an amused smile.

"I mean, yeah sweetie, how could you hide your whole double life as a rock star from us?"

"Well, I wouldn't say we were rock stars. We only had…two albums produced, did a few concerts and…radio spots." She says that last part knowing that she'd probably have to talk to Booth soon.

"Well, I must say…" (said a voice from behind Brennan, causing her to twirl around) "that was one of the finest performances I have ever seen." Brennan came face to face with the friendly face of a Dr. Daniel Goodman.

"Dr. Goodman! You're here!" she said giving him a hug

"Of course I am. You really believe I'd let you leave without saying goodbye. And I'm not the only one." He said tilting head to the left of them, and when Brennan turned in that direction, she saw one Deputy Director Cullen make his way over

"Oh my god…Cullen!" she said in a delighted shock

"Well its good to see you too, Dr. Brennan." He said with a smile as she hugged him too

"Oh my god…it has been forever since we've seen either of you." She said turning to the two gentlemen.

"Well we couldn't miss your going away party. We were there at the beginning, its only fit that we're here at the end." Said Cullen with kind eyes, eyes that had been aged with wisdom.

"Well, I'm certainly glad that you did make it." Brennan said kindly

[Meanwhile over at the refreshments table inside the house, Cam had followed Caroline over to the buffet spread that had been set up, determined to get an explanation for her earlier comments.]

"Hey stranger." Cam said endearingly as she got over there

"Since when am I a stranger to you?" Caroline retorted sarcastically

"Since never." (Cam says with a smile) "But…what I did find strange was the way you looked like you were going to scratch Booth's eyes out when he came over. And what you said when we told you he broke up with Hannah? What was up with that?" Cam says genuinely curious.

"Cherie, I think we both know why that boy ended things with that girlfriend of his." (she says shooting a knowing look at Cam; Cam nods) "And what's more, I think we both know that he's planning on doing something tonight."

"We do." Says Cam with a nod, not bothering to hide anymore that she knows her friend's plans.

(Caroline shakes her head and sighs) "That poor child. It's just going to end up as a repeat of the last time…with a broken heart." She says in an unusually sympathetic tone.

"Oh, I don't know…I don't think Brennan's going to break Booth's heart again…" Cam starts but is cut off when Caroline says

"**Brennan** break….**Booth's** heart?" (Caroline says shocked at Cam's conclusion) "U-uh, Cherie, I meant it the other way _around_." (she says drawing out the "around") "You know for egg-heads, you all aren't too clued in as to what's going on right in front of your faces."

[And with that statement, Caroline strolled off back to the table. Cam just pulled a confused face and looked at her as she walked away.]

[When Booth eventually made his way back outside, after wading his way through several unfamiliar faces inside the house, he searched the crowd for the one face that mattered most to him, Brennan's. eventually he spotted her, she was flanked by Dr. Goodman and…was that Cullen? Man, it seemed like a lot of people were coming out of the woodwork to come say goodbye to Brennan. It was then that she tore her gaze away from the two men she was conversing with for a second and locked eyes with him. They stood there, looking at each other for a few seconds, before Brennan gestured with her hand for him to come over. They had some things to discuss after all. Booth was about to comply with her request when all of a sudden Grant comes up from behind, puts his hand on the small of Brennan's back and broadcasts to the rest of the crowd]

"Everyone, everyone!" (he proclaims) "We have an announcement to make."

[_Oh god…not now. Please not now_. Brennan thinks, her eyes darting towards Booth.]

"Well as you all know, Temperance has agreed to come back to live with me in Texas, and I must say, I don't know what I did to deserve such an extraordinary, beautiful woman beside me. I just count my blessings every night that I do. But, what we haven't told you…is that Brennan has agreed to come with me, not only as my girlfriend, but…" (he pulls out the engagement ring from his lapel) "as my wife." He says slipping the ring onto her finger.

[It's easy to say that the rest of the crowd is shocked. Cam's jaw has dropped, Angela looks as if she's about to have a heart attack. But, Booth, Booth's face has fallen. He looks as if he's about to fall to pieces. Brennan turns her eyes to him, a look of pained concern on her face. He looks back at her, but then he turns around, a face of complete shock and devastation still painted across his features. He heads straight to the bar, helps himself to a bottle of whiskey and a glass, and heads off to find a private area to sulk. Brennan is about to go after him when Grant's hand finds its way back around her and he whispers in her ear.]

"Come on, sweetheart, let's go make a toast." He says directing her to the stage

[Once at the stage, Brennan says to Grant.]

"Um, Grant…honey. Why don't you let me make it." She says pleadingly, he complies.

[She gets up onto the platform and walks toward the microphone.]

"Um…wow." (she begins) "Thank you all for coming…I just wanted to say that." (she struggles, trying to find the right words, coming up short. Then, all of a sudden, she's inspired by a conversation she once had) "A good man once told me…that happiness is love, laughter, friendship, purpose…and a dance. Looking out on this crowd tonight, I can see that I have **most** of those things already. I hope that I can find them in Austin. But, one thing that I want you all to know…is that a piece of me, a piece of my heart, will always be here in DC. It will always remain with my friends (she gestures to the table where her co-workers are seated), my family, all of you at the Jeffersonian…and it will stay…with those who don't even know that they have it." (at that, she raises her glass of champagne and finishes with) "Salud."

[She descends from the stage, determined to find Booth]

[A little later, she finds Cam in the crowd.]

"Cam, have you seen Booth?" she asks seeming a little desperate to find him

"No…why didn't you tell us that you got engaged?" she asks, a little disappointed

"It's just, I didn't want to make a big deal of it."

"Oh, and springing it on us. That's not making a big deal?" (she says sarcastically; at Brennan's look of guilt, she adds) "Are you sure that the real reason wasn't just…that you're not that enthusiastic about marrying him?" she aks it as though its not a question, but a statement, a fact. She then sighs and continues. "I did see him head inside, but…that was a little while ago. I'm not sure if he's there anymore."

"Okay, thank you."

[After Cam walks off, Grant comes up to Brennan.]

"I'm so sorry sweetheart, but there's something I have to attend to for a little bit. I have to go."

"What? Why?" Brennan asks confused.

"It's nothing serious, I just have to leave early, do you want to come with me or would you rather stay here?"

(Brennan knows that she can't go with him, she has to find Booth) "No, uh, I can find a ride with someone else. I'll meet you back at the apartment."

"Okay" he says giving her a quick peck on the cheek and then making his exit.

[It is when he's gone that Brennan spots Booth; he's standing on a balcony that extends from one of the bedrooms, drinking…something. She takes a deep breath and makes her way up to him. when she gets up to the bedroom, she sees that he is looking out, taking in the view, his back turned to her. She hesitates for a moment and then]

"You know…" (he turns around at the sign of her voice) "It's a sign of alcoholism…drinking alone." She says with a friendly smile.

(He ponders for a moment) "Well…maybe, I was just waiting for you to come join me." He says holding out the bottle to her. She strolls onto the balcony and takes a spot right nest to him on the scaffolding.

(She takes a swig of the bottle, before handing it back to him with a wince on her face. He looks at her for a moment before finally saying.)

"That...that was amazing, Bones."

"Oh, uh, thank you. I, uh, didn't see you in the audience for the last one."

"Yeah, yeah I know, but I heard it..." (He says as though he gets what she's trying to intimate) "Why...why didn't you ever tell me that you could sing like that?" (He asks in a somber quiet tone)

"Uh...I don't, I don't know. I guess...you never really asked."

"I guess I didn't." (he says, looking down)

(She thinks for a moment before saying.)

"Quarter for your thoughts?"

(He laughs at her apparent mistake) "Its…penny for your thoughts, Bones."

"I know, I just think that yours are worth a quarter." She counters

"What make you think that I'm thinking about anything?"

"I know you, Booth. And…I know when something's on your mind. So spill it."

"I'm…I'm just sitting here thinking about what I've lost." He says in a sad, defeated tone. She, thinking she knows what he means, looks down for a second, before saying.

"Booth, I…I'm sorry that things didn't work out with Hannah. She was a very nice girl and I know that…" she stops at the unbelieving look that appears on his face and then…he breaks into a fit of laughter. "Wh-what's so funny?"

"Come on, Bones. You know I'm not talking about Hannah." (this time, it her turn to look shocked, because she already know what he's going to say. He looks at her with a serious face for a second before continuing) "You know, when I, when I woke up from my coma…you know, after I realized you weren't my wife…all I could think about was **making** you my wife." (she takes in a shallow breath, not believing this is actually happening) "I thought it would end up like...a fairytale. But…now, I'm too late. Now, you're going to marry **him**" (he says "him" with a bitter emphasis) "you'll build a life and a family with **him**, and it's too late. **I'm **too late." (he says sniffling)

"Booth." (its comes out in an almost whisper) "You…you're drunk. You don't know what…what you're saying." She turns to walk away, but he takes her hand in his, stopping her in her tracks

"No, hey." (he says in a soft tone) "I do…know what I'm saying, I've been wanting to say it for a long time.

[She turns around at that last part, their faces only a few inches apart from each other.]

"Why, why didn't you tell me…that night at the diner?"

(She shakes her head, her eyes beginning to tear up) "Because…it could have just been a coincidence, Booth. And...how does it matter anymore?"

"It does, Bones. It matters." (she looks up at him) "You…were the girl. You're the most beautiful thing I've ever heard, the most…the most beautiful thing I've ever witnessed period. It matters." (her eyes are burgeoning with tears at this point) "You said that Grant wanted to be the guy who wakes up next to you, the guy who builds a life with you, but…I want to be that guy too, Bones. And…mostly, I want…" (he says leaning in) "I want to be the guy who..." That sentence dies as his lips crash into hers. To his surprise, though, she doesn't pull away. Instead, her eyes close with a look of pure ecstasy crossing her features and she begins **kissing him back.**

[The first kiss is chaste, but passionate and he pulls back as soon as he leaned in. Her eyes are still closed when she says in a strained whisper.]

"I really wish…that you didn't just do that."

"Why? Didn't you…."

"Yes…I wanted you to. And yes, I felt something in it….That's a problem."

"It doesn't have to be." He says leaning in again

[He captures her lips with his. Her lips begin to work against his, allowing him to deepen the kiss, tilting her head forward with every thrust of his. Her hand find their way up to his collar, while his slide down to the small of her back. And there they stay as he walks her backward stopping at the stone outer wall, their lips locked the entire time. He brings one hand up to her face as he keeps the other on her back. They keep that position as they continue making out.]

[They continue in a passionate frenzy. He pushes his hips into hers and her legs part slightly. Her hand work their way down to his belt buckle. They are about to cross a line when they are interrupted by the sound of a creaking door and a shocked.]

"Oh my god, Dr. Brennan…Agent Booth."

[They break apart and find a very surprised and embarrassed looking Daisy and Sweets, standing there]

"I…I'm so sorry. We should have knocked or something."

[Brennan reclaims her senses, taking in what just happened]

"Oh my god…" it escapes her lips as a soft exhalation. She is embarrassed and shocked at what she's just done. She puts her hand to her face, ashamed, and rushes away from the scene where she and Booth were just making out like teenagers.

"Wait, Bones." Booth pleads before rushing after her.

[Sweets grabs his arm as he is about to go after her, allowing her a head start out the door to the hallway]

"What are you doing...didn't you tell me that you had moved on, that I should do like you?" (Sweets says in a hushed scolding whisper)

(Booth looks to Daisy and back to Sweets)

"Well obviously, you didn't take that advice, so why should I?" (Booth says before breaking Sweet's grip on his arm and rushing after Brennan)

[She rushes down the stairs and into the sight of the other guests, hoping they are unable to discern her slightly mussed hair and smeared lipstick. She sees Angela at the front door, bidding a few of the departing guests goodbye for the evening. She rushes to where her friend is standing and grabs her coat from the coat rack.]

"Angela, I…I have to go." She says obviously flustered.

"Wait, why? Bren…what's wrong?" Angela asks with friendly concern.

[She doesn't have time to answer before.]

"Bones!" Booth says from the top of the stairs. At this a few guests' heads are turned, the attention obviously being grabbed by the spectacle unfolding in front of them.

[Brennan rushes out the front door before Booth can finish his descent. He quickly dashes past Angela and out the door after Brennan. Angela, completely worried as to what's happening before her, walks out onto the front steps, closing the door in the process, and yells after them]

"What happened!"

"Bones, slow down for a second." He says as soon as he catches up to Brennan.

"Please…just let me go." She pleads, tears almost about to fall, while walking away from him. Her hand is outstretched trying to flag down one of the driver Hodgins hired for the night.

"Don't…don't tell me that you didn't just feel something Bones, okay. I know you did." He says pleading with her

"It doesn't matter what I felt." (she yells) "I can't, I can't do this with you….I'm engaged" she says, tears streaking down her face.

"Bones, hey, hey." He says grabbing a hold of her. "Look at me and tell me you don't want to be with me."

[She looks away. Obviously, she can't]

"It doesn't matter! I can't let you do this to me again!…" (she says breaking free of his grasp) "not again." she adds before turning to get into the car that has just pulled up beside the curb.

"Do what to you again?" he asks arms outstretched. At this, she stops in her tracks, and turns to him, a look of disbelief on her face.

"You…you really don't get it…do you?" she asks him in a much calmer tone and when its obvious he doesn't she continues. "You know Booth…I can't say a lot for Grant. I can't say that I will spend the rest of my life with him. I can't even say that I _want _to spend the rest of my life with him."

"Then why are you marrying him?" he interjects and then continues. "Bones, I know that this…you and me…its right. I knew, right from the beginning."

"You're the one who knew from the beginning." She says placing special emphasis on that sentence. "So…you knew when…when you used the worst thing that ever happened to me as leverage to win a trial." (at his confused face, she elaborates) "The Shilling case, remember." (he then dons a face of recognition and shock that she remembers that) "And…you knew when…you slept with my boss. And when you said that I was like a guy to you and how about when you told me that I should have gone with Sully." (she says this, breaking into a rant, as if listing offenses) "And…you knew when you faked your death…and didn't even tell me you were still alive."

"You were supposed to know about that." (he says, still not believing that they're having this conversation)

"Even if I had!" (she yells, not finding his explanation satisfactory) "A phone call, anything, just to let me know you were okay. Instead, you chose to let me twist in the wind for two weeks and blame myself for getting you killed"

[He grows wide-eyed at that. He didn't know that she had blamed herself]

"And for four straight years, you repeated this mantra of me being _just something_ to you; just a partner, just a friend. And now, you want me to believe you because now, **now** you say you want me to be more than that." (he's stunned silent) "What I can say about Grant, Booth…He saw what was in front of him and…it didn't take him four and a half years to do something about it." And it is with that last statement that she gets into the car, her face stained with tears, with new ones making their way down.

[The car drives away, into the night. It reminds him of the countless other times she's been carried away from him in a car. Except, this time, she didn't look back at him. he feels his heart take on the weight of an elephant and sink down into his stomach. He failed. He had let history repeat itself…again. Except, unbeknownst to him, this time they had a witness. Angela had heard the whole thing, had seen the whole thing. Her heart broke, both for her best friend and the heartbroken agent that she had left standing on the curb.]

* * *

Good things come to those who wait. Don't worry, Brennan and Booth will be together. And for those of you who are guessing that this means Angela will be browbeating Brennan…well, we'll have to find out.


	16. The Brother of the Bride

Kay kids, so that last scene….a little emotionally turbulent, I know. But god, I wish that the show really takes that direction. I think it would be awesome, I would actually send this to HH if he would consider reading it and possibly using it as a guideline for season 6 because, honestly, I don't like the direction they're taking. Stephen Nathan said that they wanted a whole new dynamic, yet I believe that they've actually taken a step backward. This "new" dynamic that they're going for is basically the same one that they _**had**_ for seasons 1-4, with them denying any attraction to each other. Booth actually admitting his love was a new dynamic…and now he all of a sudden he's fallen out of love with Dr. Brennan? Major fuck up on their part in my opinion.

What if the new dynamic could be Booth realizing, once getting to know her again after being apart for a while, that he didn't even know Brennan all that well to begin with. I mean, in my opinion, Booth never even really made an effort to know Brennan, never asked her anything about her interests or her past. He just assumed that he had her pegged as the awkward, clumsy, socially inept scientist, he still does. Well, pretty much everybody in the Jeffersonian does that too though, even Angela, Brennan's own best friend. But, what if, he starts finding out stuff about her that he never knew before. Stuff that makes him think that she's amazing and incredible and that makes him fall in love with her all over again. I would so love to see that.

So, for a little background on this, Booth comes back with Hannah. Of course, Brennan is heartbroken and doesn't seem to want to hang out with Booth, because of the pain. However, Brennan soon meets this good looking, successful economics professor, Grant Wylde (portrayed by Bailey Chase), who is originally from Austin, TX, but moved to Washington, DC to advance his career. Eventually, they become serious and Booth, still not completely over Brennan (although he won't admit that to himself), displays classic signs of jealousy (sort of like Sully 2.0). Then, Grant asks Brennan to move back to Texas with him and Brennan, thinking she has lost Booth forever, agrees to go. Oh and for those who are curious, Brennan has secured a job in Austin, heading up the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! The characters and story lines of Bones belong to FOX, not me. Except for Grant, Grant is mine. So, (drum roll please) on with the scene

* * *

"I still can't believe you didn't tell us that." (Angela stated, seated on the couch in Brennan's living room)

[It was the day after the farewell party and Brennan and Grant were hosting her family and friends at her apartment. A small private get-together really, just for the purposes of giving Brennan a few going away gifts that she had insisted she didn't want, recounting a few entertaining stories from the past, and saying a few final goodbyes. Present in her living room were, Hodgins, Angela, Cam, Daisy, Sweets, Max, Russ, Amy and their girls. However…Brennan from time to time would keep glancing at the door, secretly hoping that someone else would show up. Cam and Angela didn't go without noticing this]

"You know in six years of working together and being your best friend, you think you could have slipped in, "Oh by the way, I was in a band". I mean, seriously Bren, you think you could of told me about your secret life as a musician."

"I just, I didn't think it was that noteworthy. I honestly don't know why you're so focused on it." Brennan said, genuinely confused at why her friend was so ruffled over the fact that she had kept it a secret from them

[Cam, Hodgins, Russ, and Max all smiled at Temperance's confusion over the issue.]

"Well at least you found out before me, Angela. I mean, consider it from my perspective. I'm her father and she never even bothered to tell me either." Max chimed in

"Yeah how in the world did you find out Daisy." Sweets asked turning to his girlfriend/fiancé…whatever she was.

"I looked it up on Wikipedia. You know, Dr. Brennan does have a Wikipedia page and there's a whole section devoted to her musical career." (she says it as though it was the easiest thing in the world to find out, and it actually kind of was really) "My jaw dropped when I saw a few concert videos." (she turns to Brennan stiffly) "You were amazing." (she says, still finding it a little awkward to be around Brennan after what she witnessed between the good doctor and Agent Booth)

"Why…thank you Daisy." Brennan says still a little confused to why they were so focused on it.

"Well, I was just blown away by your performance, sweetheart." Grant says wrapping his arm tighter around her and dropping a kiss on her cheek. Brennan grew a little stiff at the contact, but tried to act natural, not wanting anyone to notice. Although, that didn't stop Angela from doing so. Max's face, also, wrinkled in muted suspicion.

"Thank you, Grant." She says with a half smile

[They sat there conversing for a while; Brennan noticing the apparent disdain that appeared on her father's face whenever Grant acted affectionately toward her. He didn't like him. She had known that; she chalked it up to the fact that Grant was taking her away from them, but even before she had announced that she was moving to Texas with him, he displayed a slight coldness towards Grant. She wondered why that was. Her attention was torn away from this train of thought when Amy asked]

"By the way, where's Agent Booth? I thought for sure that he'd be here." Brennan all of a sudden grew stiff. Angela noticed this while the rest of the room didn't.

"Oh, I don't know." (she said while shaking her head and shrugging) "He must have been busy." (she offered) "You know…" (she started, looking for an exit from the room) "I'm going to go get the cake out of the oven. I'll be right back." She said quickly exiting the room.

(Angela looked around before saying) "You know, I think I'm going to go help her." (Angela says, seeing an opportunity to get her friend alone. She quickly excuses herself from the room.)

"Well I think I better go." (Cam says rising from her seat)

"No…please stay. I know Tempe wanted all of you to be here." Grant says pleadingly.

"I know…but Michelle just left me a voicemail." (Cam lied. The truth was, she felt she had to get out of there and knock some sense into the one person that wasn't there) "She only does that if she's about to burn down the house or something." She then exits, determined to grill Booth about his absence

[In the kitchen, Brennan reaches down into the oven and pulls out the chocolate cake that had been baking inside. She places it on the counter to cool when Angela walks in.]

"Hey there, sweetie." (says Angela announcing her presence)

"Oh, hey Angela." (says Brennan, a little startled at the sudden entrance) "What's up?"

"Okay…" (Angela starts, choosing to skip any pleasantries and jump right to what she wants to discuss) "I'm just going to cut to the chase….I saw what happened between you and Booth. And, I grilled Daisy a little earlier and she filled me in on what she walked in on."

[Brennan was taken aback by her friend's brashness, although she really shouldn't by now]

"Angela…I don't know what Daisy told you, but…"

"Oh, she told me how she saw you and Booth necking like two kids in love." (at Brennan's speechless expression) "Sound about right?" she says, getting a little impatient.

[Brennan continues her dumfounded speechlessness. She is about to say something when]

"Why are you trying so hard to cover up what you're obviously feeling?" Angela demanded

"…Angela. Its not that simple."

"Really, why don't you explain it to me." (Angela prods but their conversation is cut off when)

"Explain what to you, Angela?" (Russ asks as he walks in; both women are startled)

"Oh…uh, Angela just wanted me to explain why Grant and I aren't having the wedding here." (she covered up lamely before turning to her friend) "I'll tell you all about it later, Ange."

"I'll hold you to that." (Angela says, playing along) "Later…at the bar?" (Angela queries)

"Sure" (Brennan practically mouths before Angela waltzes back into the other room. _Yeah, __**real**__ excited for that conversation_, she thinks to herself)

[Once Angela is gone, Russ, himself, becomes a little curious.]

"Why are you and Grant having the wedding in Texas?" (Russ asks)

"Oh…uh, its just that Grant's whole family is out there and you know its much more logical for you guys just to fly there instead of making them fly here." (she offers an explanation)

"Well, why couldn't you just say that to Angela?" (Russ asks his sister)

"Oh, well…it's just maybe a little bit more complicated than that." (Brennan says, hoping he'll find that satisfactory. Thankfully, he does.)

(Russ nods and then pulls holds up the object that Brennan didn't even notice he'd been holding) "Got ya a little something." (he announces holding up the rectangular object, wrapped in black paper) "I know you said you didn't want anything…but."

"Russ…" (Brennan starts)

"Don't even mention it. It's really just a little something to help you remember us." (he says holding it out to her)

"Like I really need help with that." (she says sarcastically while taking the object in her hands)

[She unwraps the object and there staring back at her is a photo, already mounted in a picture frame. It was taken the day of her father's trial. The day they had found him innocent. The photo was of all the Brennans huddled around the counter at the diner, but among them...was Booth, his arm on the small of Brennan's back. She remembered how she had been so thankful for his presence during the trial. She really didn't know what she would have done if he wasn't there. She also remembered the celebratory lunch that they had decided to treat themselves to and how they had asked the waitress at the counter to take a snapshot of all of them together. Booth was about to excuse himself from the photo when Brennan pulled him back in, telling him that he had just as much a right to be in the photo as she did, effectively telling him…that he was family. She stroked the photo with her thumb, smiling wistfully at the memory. What had happened to make things the way they were now? She's brought out of her trance when she hears Russ let out a little snort as if something is funny.]

"What" (she inquires.)

"Its just…funny how things work out…that's all." (he says vaguely; at his sister's confused look, he continues) "I guess that you've noticed how dad's been a little cold toward your fiancé, right?" (she nods and says)

"Well yeah, but I just attributed it to the fact that he's taking me to live with him in Austin."

(Russ shrugs and then says) "Well, that and….It's just that dad has always had it in his head that…if you were going to marry anyone…that it would be **Booth** that you married." (he says as if it's just some crazy pipe dream of his father's)

"Really?" (Brennan asks, a mix of complex emotions showing up on her face, she seems to digest this information for a little bit)

"Yeah. I even thought so too at one point…" (he says and then looks at his sister and says) "But, you know, it was just some crazy fantasy" (he says) "I mean, you have Grant..." (he lets that statement hang in the air for a second)

"Yeah." (Brennan says) "just some…fantasy. I **do** have Grant." (she says, although she sounds like she doesn't quite believe what it is that she is saying, she looks back down at the photograph)

[Russ, however, seems to have picked up on the mix of emotions that Tempe just tried to cover up, but failed to. Did his sister actually hold some sort of…_**torch**_ for the man that his father thought was her soul mate. Did she actually want to indulge in the fantasy that their father had crafted for her years ago. _Maybe…she just might_, he thought.]


	17. The Browbeating in the Bar

Okay, this chapter, I have to say is very angst-ridden. Just hang in with me a little more, trust me the payoff at the end is so worth it and the end is not at all far away.

So, for a little background on this, Booth comes back with Hannah. Of course, Brennan is heartbroken and doesn't seem to want to hang out with Booth, because of the pain. However, Brennan soon meets this good looking, successful economics professor, Grant Wylde (portrayed by Bailey Chase), who is originally from Austin, TX, but moved to Washington, DC to advance his career. Eventually, they become serious and Booth, still not completely over Brennan (although he won't admit that to himself), displays classic signs of jealousy (sort of like Sully 2.0). Then, Grant asks Brennan to move back to Texas with him and Brennan, thinking she has lost Booth forever, agrees to go. Oh and for those who are curious, Brennan has secured a job in Austin, heading up the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! The characters and story lines of Bones belong to FOX, Kathy Reich's, and Hart Hanson, not me. Except for Grant, Grant is mine. So, (drum roll please) on with the scene

* * *

[It was the day after. The day after the farewell party. The day after the big revelation. The day after…history had repeated itself. It was the day after Booth had chased after Brennan, only to be turned down, again. Booth sat in his office, in that old chair that Brennan herself had helped him get. He found that the more time he spent sulking in his apartment, the worse he felt. That place, it reeked of her. That was where they had spent several nights together discussing cases; eating Chinese food; fixing his plumbing. That was one of the places…where he fell for her. It didn't help either that he was now in another place he had fallen for her. This place had her engrained within it almost as much as his apartment. The chair she helped him get, the desk she used to sit on, the trinkets that she had gotten him; it all reminded him of her. It was also in this office a week ago that Cam had told him to fight for her. Well, he had tried that. He had fought for her…and it yielded the same results as last time. This just left him with only one option….let her go, let her be happy. He resolved that he was going to respect her choice; that he would let her build a life for herself, even if that life didn't include him. What was that old saying? If you love something, let it go. That seemed true now more than ever. He knew that she was expecting him to come to her apartment, but actually going to one of the other places that he'd fallen in love with her, a place that was _**of**_ her, where she _**actually**_ _**was**_, was too much to bear. It was then that he heard a knocking on his door. He looked up hoping that it was the one person he wanted most, but he was disappointed when he saw Cam standing there instead. She had a look of sympathy as well as a little annoyance pasted onto her face.]

(She lets out a sigh) "What's up Seeley?" (she says expecting an answer)

"What do you mean?" (he knows what she means but is in no mood to get into this discussion)

"What I mean…is why didn't you go come to say goodbye to Brennan. I just came from her place."

"Me and Bones already said goodbye…several times." (he says stressing a point) "And…she wouldn't have wanted me there anyway." (he says with a long, melancholy face)

"Actually, I got the distinct feeling that she **did** want you there." (Cam offered trying to show her friend the error of his ways)

"Well, then…I guess your instincts aren't as good as mine." (he said with a sharp "leave me alone" tone)

"What the hell is wrong with you." (Cam said, just pissed at this point)

(Booth turns around at this) "Excuse me." (he says, somewhat annoyed at her insistence that he was the one with the problem)

"You heard me." (she said not backing down) "Damn it, Seeley…" (she says exacerbated) "For as long as I've known you, I've watched as piece by piece, you've sacrificed yourself, all in the name of your _**distorted**_ sense of _**honor**_." (she says calling back upon their long history as friends and sometimes more than that, then continues) "Trying to make up for the sins you committed as…a sniper, as…a gambler. And not even your sins most of the time; the sins of your father, your brother, your ancestor….and you've always thought that it was your duty to sit down and shut up…probably why you made such a good soldier. But…what you're about to give up now…it's something you can never get back, no matter how hard you try."

"And what's that?" (he says curtly)

"…Your heart." (she says pointing out what should be obvious to him) "And if you do this…if you just roll over and let her go without putting up a real fight…" (she says warningly, shaking her head) "then there really will be nothing left of you."

[She says it with a heavy tone before she turns and walks out his office. He's left there staring off into space. Trying to piece together what was just been said and what on earth he was going to do.]

[Later that night. It's evening at the Founding Fathers; an immense crowd of Saturday night drinkers has congested the bar. Brennan had told Angela, after everyone had left her apartment that afternoon, that she would meet her here at seven and well…it was seven, on the dot. She should look at this as an enjoyable, yet sad occasion, the last drinks she'll ever have with her best friend, something she should savor, but instead, given the topic they are set to discuss, she looks at it rather as something she should hope to be lucky enough to get out of without breaking down. Brennan waltzes into the establishment, seeking out her friend's familiar visage. She eventually locates the woman, seated at the bar, ordering a cosmopolitan for herself. When Brennan walks up behind her, the bartender turns his attention to the new customer.]

"Oh just a beer, thank you." (she says taking a seat next to her friend; she couldn't drink too much tonight, she needed her mind in the right place tonight to finish dealing with her travel arrangements) "I can't stay too long, Grant and I have to finish packing."

(Angela looks at her incredulously) "Are you serious." (she says as if Brennan just committed an offense) "You're actually still going through with this."

"Angela…." (Brennan starts, but an angry Angela cuts her off)

"Don't 'Angela' me…you know what I'm talking about. I…can't believe that after everything that's happened, you can just walk away from it all. As if this all means nothing to you."

"Angela, you know that this isn't easy for me!" (she says offended that Angela would even think that)

"Well, if it's _**so**_ hard for you…then why are you going through with it?" (she asks, pleading for Brennan to give her some sort of explanation)

"It's…it's hard to explain."

"Well, I'm listening…start explaining."

"Angela, stop it okay." (Brennan says losing patience) "I'm an adult, I don't have to explain my actions or my decisions to…" (she's about to finish that thought when Angela cuts her off with a shocking)

"I know that Booth tried to make things work with you before you guys left." (Brennan stops at that. She feels like she's just been hit by a train. How could Angela know, how did anyone know? Did Booth tell people what had happened that night outside the Hoover. At Brennan's dumbstruck expression, Angela continues) "Booth told Cam and Cam told me…I mean, Bren…" (she starts in disbelief) "the man told you he wanted to be with you. And, if it were one sided, I would leave this alone, but…I know that you have to feel the same." (she said, hoping that she could knock some sense into Brennan)

"Angela…it is so much more complicated than that, okay. There's a lot that you…_**don't**_ know." (truth was, there was a lot nobody knew)

"Well what about what happened at your farewell party. Daisy knows what she saw. I know what I saw, what I heard. Is it just that…you were hurt when he brought home Hannah, was that it?" (she asked, looking to see some sort of clue as to her friend's actions, but Brennan refuses to look her in the eye) "Because if that's it, then, sweetie…you're not being fair. You hurt him first and now you want to hold it against him that he tried to move on…and failed by the way."

"No, Angela. That, that is not what's happening right here." (she says feeling as if she is being attacked and nobody is hearing her side. She gets up from her seat, about to leave, she doesn't have to take this)

"Then what is it." (Angela pleads trying to stop her from running) "Why can't you just see where it leads? Why can't you just give him a chance?" (she asks not letting up on her friend)

"Because…" (Brennan says pausing)

"Because?" (Angela urges, impatiently)

[Finally….Brennan cracks]

"Because….!"

* * *

CLIFFHANGER…don't hate me, we'll revisit this scene a little later, but first…


	18. The Flower in the Drawer

Okay so, there are three chapters here. This first one is going to make you go WTF. The second one is going to make you go OMG. And the last one is going to make you…oh well you'll find out

So, for a little background on this, Booth comes back with Hannah. Of course, Brennan is heartbroken and doesn't seem to want to hang out with Booth, because of the pain. However, Brennan soon meets this good looking, successful economics professor, Grant Wylde (portrayed by Bailey Chase), who is originally from Austin, TX, but moved to Washington, DC to advance his career. Eventually, they become serious and Booth, still not completely over Brennan (although he won't admit that to himself), displays classic signs of jealousy (sort of like Sully 2.0). Then, Grant asks Brennan to move back to Texas with him and Brennan, thinking she has lost Booth forever, agrees to go. Oh and for those who are curious, Brennan has secured a job in Austin, heading up the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! The characters and story lines of Bones belong to FOX, Kathy Reichs, and Hart Hanson, not me. Except for Grant, Grant is mine. So, (drum roll please) on with the scene

* * *

[There seemed to be a mountain of unattended paperwork piled on his desk as Booth sat in his office on a seemingly normal Monday morning; the sterile atmosphere in the office betrayed the emotional turmoil that the agent was wrestling with. Sunday had come and gone like a fleeting daydream. He had spent most of the day in his pajamas, either laying comatose in bed or eating cheerios for dinner out of a tuber ware container. And now, it was Monday, the day that Brennan was set to leave, her plane was set to take off at four that afternoon and then…she would be gone. She would become part of his history, like a hallucination that had come and gone without a trace. He looked out of his window and down at the street. White smoke billowed out of a manhole as transfixed pedestrians walked by, seemingly detached from their environment. For a moment, he wondered if it was all for real. If the last six, seven years had actually occurred or if he had just simply imagined it. With this thought, he walked over to his desk and opened the top drawer on the left hand side revealing a white flower placed precariously inside. However, this was not just any white flower, it was a carnation, and not only that….but it was the carnation that Brennan had been wearing in her hair the night of her going away party; the night they had said their **final** goodbye. He took it in his hand and felt it between his fingers. After she had gotten into the car and rode away, the vehicle dissolving into the opaque, violet haze of the night, he had taken a few steps forward involuntarily, maybe in an effort to make sure that all of it had really just happened. It was then that he felt his toes collide with something; he looked down and there it was, the pure ivory of the blossom sticking out against the dingy black asphalt. It must have fallen out of her hair when she got into the car. He knelt down, picked it up and had been holding on to it ever since. Part of him wondered why he had kept it, but the other part of him already knew the answer. He had kept it…because it was the only thing he had left of her. It was the only reminder he had that she was real…that he hadn't dreamt her existence; that the past six years of his life had actually happened. He held it to his chest, hoping that if he concentrated hard enough, she would appear in front of him, but when he opened his eyes, there was nothing. All that was there was an empty office….that matched his empty heart.]

* * *

"Okay." (Grant announced as he and Hodgins finished loading up the large white shuttle-cab that was escorting him and Brennan to the airport) "We are locked and _**loaded**_" (he said with a boyish grin)

[Brennan stood on the front steps of the Jeffersonian, the same steps that she had once chased after Booth from upon discovering that Cleo Eller was the girl in the pond. It was from those steps that their partnership had been consolidated. She stood there with Cam beside her. Angela and her had said their goodbyes at the Founding Fathers Saturday night and Angela had declined coming to Brennan's actual departure. She had said that if she had to witness it in person, then she most certainly would have broken down in tears. So Brennan had settled for having those last drinks with her friend. Although, something Angela had said was still eating away at her.]

"You know…you don't have to do this." (Cam said quietly to her friend)

(Brennan, though, with a look of sad certainty said) "Yes…I do."

(Cam was about to counter that point when Grant strolled up and said.)

"It was such a pleasure getting to know you, Dr. Saroyan, and…the same to you Dr. Hodgins" (he said turning to Hodgins who had appeared beside him) "We expect to see you both at the wedding along with Angela, it's a real shame she couldn't make it today."

"Yeah, well, Angie's always been bad at goodbyes." (Hodgins says, giving explanation for his wife's absence)

"Oh well, this isn't even really goodbye, it's just a 'see you later'. We'll be seeing you again." (Grant offered before turning to his fiancé and saying) "Kay, ready to go?"

(Brennan thought for a split-second, looking off into the distance trying to discern any sign of a black SUV pulling up. When there was none she turned to Grant and said) "Yeah…I guess…I guess I am."

(Cam leaned in and gave Brennan a hug, while blinking back tears) "It was…it was such an honor to work with you, to be your friend." (she said that last part pulling away)

"I feel exactly the same way, Dr…Cam." (Brennan said choosing, at the last second, not to be so formal in their goodbye. It was then that Cam hugged her again)

(Then, it was Hodgins' turn. He had tears of his own in his eyes, threatening to deluge down his face.)

"You…uh. You take real good care of yourself, Dr. B." (he said embracing her.)

"You too Hodgins…and take good care of Angela for me too, okay." (she says her face marked with tears)

(Grant offers his goodbyes to the two scientists and then he and Brennan pile into the taxicab. As the car pulls away, Brennan looks back at the building that for such a long time, most of her life revolved around. She looks back at her friends, their faces marked in sadness. Its then that she turns back around and looks uncertainly into the future)

[Meanwhile, at the Hoover]

[Booth grunted as he pulled some of the boxes out of the corner of his office. It was mostly just evidence from some old cases that he and Brennan had worked together. God, it was amazing how much crap had accumulated in his office. He wondered why he hadn't cleaned it out before he had left for Afghanistan. He deemed that it was probably better to clean out his office of the things that reminded him of her, in an attempt to make it more….detached; to convert it into a purely…professional space. However, he felt that it was also necessary to peer through the boxes, just in case there was something important that he would need in the future. He had already gone through three boxes and had started on a fourth. But, this box, it wasn't just any…it was the evidence from a killer that had tormented them for a good portion of their partnership. The woman who had taken both of them hostage, but who eventually they had captured. But also….she was the woman who had driven a wedge through their partnership, the one who had forced Brennan to feel a need to leave for Maluku. It was the Gravedigger file.]

[He pulled a binder of evidence collected from the site of Brennan and Hodgins' kidnapping. Leafing through the evidence, emotions from that event came flooding back to him; the worry, the anger, the desperation to get them back…to get her back. He was so busy recounting what he had felt during those action-packed hours that he didn't notice that a piece of paper that had been jammed within the binder had fallen free of its bondage until it brushed up against his pant leg. He lent down to pick it up. It was worn and dirty. The paper had been configured into a tri-fold and on the outside it had but one name scribbled on it…'Booth'. "_This is…this is Bones' handwriting"_ thought Booth to himself. Curious, he opened the paper and began reading what had scribbled on the page...]

"Oh my god" (the words escaped his lips in a hoarse sounding mutter)

[He palmed his keys and headed straight to his car. He had to get to the airport before her plane took off. He had to see her….had to talk to her. He had…..he had to. The traffic to Dulles rushed past him in a blur and before he knew it, he was already in front of the airport. He pulled up haphazardly to the curb, in too much of a rush to park properly. He didn't even register when the security told him to fix his car before he rushed inside. He zipped past the security checks, flashing his badge to the guards. He ran to the departure gates and scanned the crowd, trying to discern her face within the massive assemblage of travelers. Was he already too late? He rushed up to one of the airline reps.]

"Hey…hey, hey" (he sputtered trying to get the guy's attention) "Can you…can you tell me if flight 4…" (damn, what was her flight number) "4127…flight 4127 to Austin has left already?" (he asks in a rushed, jumpy tone)

(The rep looks through the computer for a moment before saying) "Okay…flight 4127 to Bergstrom International, Southwest Airlines….I'm sorry sir, that flight has already departed."

(Booth heart sank even further into his colon) "Well…can, can you tell me if a, uh, a Dr. Temperance Brennan was on the flight?" (he asked almost on the verge of tears)

"I'm….sorry, sir. That's classified information." (the rep stated matter-of-factly, but you could discern a touch of sympathy for the man in front of him in his words)

(Booth silently digests before he chokes out the words) "It's…it's okay. I understand."

[Booth staggers away from the counter, off to one of the vacant chairs that populated the waiting area. It was there that he plopped down on the seat and ran a hand through his hair in saddened frustration. _She's gone, I've lost her_. That was the only thought that reverberated through the empty chasms of his mind. He took out the paper, which he had stuffed into his jacket pocket before racing out of the Hoover and began re-reading it, trying to imagine that her voice was reading it to him. if only so he could he could hear her voice for one last time…]


	19. The Confession in the Car

So...for anyone who's familiar with Aliens in the Spaceship, you'll know what the opening line in this chapter is referring to. For those who are not, you'll find out later. I'm sure that you'll refresh your memory by re-watching the scene

So, for a little background on this, Booth comes back with Hannah. Of course, Brennan is heartbroken and doesn't seem to want to hang out with Booth, because of the pain. However, Brennan soon meets this good looking, successful economics professor, Grant Wylde (portrayed by Bailey Chase), who is originally from Austin, TX, but moved to Washington, DC to advance his career. Eventually, they become serious and Booth, still not completely over Brennan (although he won't admit that to himself), displays classic signs of jealousy (sort of like Sully 2.0). Then, Grant asks Brennan to move back to Texas with him and Brennan, thinking she has lost Booth forever, agrees to go. Oh and for those who are curious, Brennan has secured a job in Austin, heading up the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! The characters and story lines of Bones belong to FOX, Kathy Reichs, and Hart Hanson, not me. Except for Grant, Grant is mine. So, (drum roll please) on with the scene

* * *

"Anyone you want to say goodbye to?" (Hodgins asked ominously as he handed the paper to Brennan, ripped out of the very book that she had written)

[Brennan turned her gaze toward him upon hearing his question. She silently pondered for a moment. Of course there was someone that she wanted to say goodbye to. Someone that she felt ill at the thought of never seeing again. She took the piece of paper in her hand, rummaged through the seat to the right of her for a pen...and began writing furiously, trying to get out every thought, every emotion, every...regret]

[We fade in back to Booth, who four years later, is sitting in an airport, rereading the words that she wrote in that car. The confession that has made him rush over here in a vain attempt to keep her as a part of his life. Maybe...if he had just been a little bit earlier, if that letter had presented itself a few minutes...months...years before, he wouldn't be sitting alone in this airport right now.]

[We flash back and forth between him reading the letter and Brennan, in the dark car, writing it, her voice narrating the entire time. It begins with her writing on the paper, while her voice says...]

Dear Booth,

Unfortunately if you're reading this now, I am gone. I have become yet another victim, another case to be solved. Please...if anything, don't blame yourself for our deaths. I know that you did everything in your power to save us...to save me, and that is all that we'd ask for.

I know that the logical thing would be for me to tell you details of our capture, give you clues that might help you catch a serial killer, but there is one thing I know I will always regret, if I were to live, not putting down on this paper, if only to admit it to myself. I've always heard people say that right before death you are supposed to have some grand revelation about your life; that some unspoken truth is supposed to reveal itself. Yet now while I am facing death myself, all I can think about, all I can focus on...is you, that last drink that we had together, the last laugh that we shared. You once asked me if I believed in fate and I gave you the scientific answer: "absolutely not, it's ludicrous". Now though I have to ask. Is it too late for me to change my answer?

Maybe it was fate that I met you, that you became a part of my life. But what I believe is not the work of fate...is the way that I have begun to feel about you. A shortness of breath whenever you're around and the inability to think of anything else when you're not; these things are my own doing. If I were looking at this objectively, as an outside observer watching the both of us, I'd have to come to one, solid conclusion...that I am **in love** with you.

Remember that night, outside of that dank pool bar as we worked our first case together, that night we shared our first and last kiss. Well what I never told you about that night is that, even though it ended with me riding away from you...I left something of myself with you that night, a piece of myself. And if I were being completely honest with myself and with you, I'd have to say that I never really got it back. That is why I had to pretend that I hated you; why I had to push you away. Because...I knew that letting you get too close to me in that way could only spell disaster. After learning about all of my other relationships, can you really blame me? Now, it seems, though, that whenever we part, a little bit more of me is always left with you. I have had many regrets in my life...but the one thing I regret the most is that I didn't spend the night with you then and that I haven't tried to reignite that connection since. All I can hope for now, though, is that you might have felt the same, and that if I do perish here today you will find happiness in your life without me, you deserve that, but...that you'll never forget me.

Forever Yours,

Bones


	20. The Truth at the Tavern

Hey kids! So remember the scene that we left in a cliffhanger, that scene between Angela and Brennan in the bar. We're revisiting it...enjoy!

So, for a little background on this, Booth comes back with Hannah. Of course, Brennan is heartbroken and doesn't seem to want to hang out with Booth, because of the pain. However, Brennan soon meets this good looking, successful economics professor, Grant Wylde (portrayed by Bailey Chase), who is originally from Austin, TX, but moved to Washington, DC to advance his career. Eventually, they become serious and Booth, still not completely over Brennan (although he won't admit that to himself), displays classic signs of jealousy (sorta like Sully 2.0). Then, Grant asks Brennan to move back to Texas with him and Brennan, thinking she has lost Booth forever, agrees to go. Oh and for those who are curious, Brennan has secured a job in Austin, heading up the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! the characters and story lines of Bones belong to FOX, not me. Except for Grant, Grant is mine. So, (drumroll please) on with the scene!

* * *

"Why can't you just see where it leads? Why can't you just give him a chance?"

"Because…"

"Because?"

[Finally...Brennan cracks]

"Because it's not the first time he's done this to me!" (she almost yells; some faces from the people assembled at the bar turn to look at them, but that doesn't stop Brennan from continuing) "He...he bro...he broke **my heart** **first**." (she says in a softer, sadder tone)

"He...He did?" (Angela says, almost not believing what she just heard come out of her friends mouth)

"Yes" (she almost whispers it and then looks down as she's committed some sort of unspeakable act by letting it slip that she, the great Temperance Brennan, had gotten her heart broken. She sits back down.)

"Oh sweetie…I. I'm sorry I just always thought that…you know…that Booth was the one who..."

"That Booth was the one secretly pining for the day we'd be together?" (she says it almost sarcastically before shaking her head and saying) "He wasn't. He didn't."

[Silence for a moment, Angela reclaims her seat. Brennan is the first to break the silence, her voice laden with a mix of heavy emotions]

"Ange you know how it is when, when just being near somebody or even just thinking about them makes you feel like you've just taken some sort of drug? And the whole world fades away and all that you can focus on is...this one person...this one guy."

"Yeah I know." (Angela says with a knowing look) "I've felt that more than once."

"Well, that's how I" (she stops herself)"…**that was** how I felt about Booth...I loved him..." (she states quietly while looking away from Angela) "stupid right?" (she asks with a sad smile looking to her friend). "So I waited for a long time hoping that one day he'd see me, I mean _really_ see me...and it hurt when he made it seem like he **didn't **see me that way, and it hurt worse when he made it seem like he didn't see me **at all**." (her eyes start to sheen with unshed tears)

"But sweetie?"

"And then...when he had his tumor and his surgery…Did I ever tell you what he said to me when he first woke up?"

"No."

"He asked me…Who are you?"

"Oh Bren, but…he'd just had brain surgery and you know, it's not like he completely forgot you. It's just he wasn't sure which you you were..."(she gives up on trying to give a logical sounding explanation) "He thought you were his wife remember?"

"I know. But, the reality is I'm not that woman from his dream. What he wanted was her, not me. And why wouldn't he, I mean, she's kind and open and caring..."

"So are you."

"No, I'm not...not enough. That's when I came to the conclusion that…if it was that easy for him…to replace me with this _fantasy_, this _better_ version of me, then I'd probably wasted four years waiting for something that was never _really_ going to happen…."

"But...It did, sweetie. It did happen."

"But, it was too late...And by the time he asked me to 'give it a shot'. I couldn't even really be sure if he was for real...or if it was just the _coma_ talking." (she is silent for a moment before continuing) "I mean...what was to stop him from saying 'Oh wait, I don't really love you.' before we even got to _**30**_ or _**40**_ or _**50**_ years."

"Well...what made you think that he would do that..."

"Angela..." (her voice quivers with emotion) "No one has ever wanted me for more than 5** months**, let alone 5 decades."

[Angela gives her a sympathetic look, feeling stupid that she hadn't seen the way her friend had felt for years, hadn't been there to offer support when she had gotten her heart broken the first time around. They continue on in silence for about a minute before Brennan continues]

"And I was right wasn't I...even if I didn't want to be. I'm a scientist, not a gambler. I go by precedence. I go by the evidence. And _precedence _and _evidence_ say that if I let him in...he'll end up breaking my heart again...he has already."

[She takes in a deep breath before continuing]

"…You know, after my parents and my brother…I promised myself that I would never let anyone make me into that scared, alone little girl again. But then, all of a sudden…I was." (a look of pain crosses her face, but then she dons a mask of pure logic) "I made the mistake of letting him become too important to me and he ended up hurting me."

"Bren…"

"And I thought that after that it was done, and I thought I was over him...but he found a way to do it again anyway. And then I thought that me going to Maluku would finally put an end to it. But he's just done it again and he'll keep doing it again and again and again..." (she's starting to break into a rant, Angela is about to say something when Brennan cuts her off before she can even get a word out) "And I finally realize now...that the only way I can end it for good…is if I just leave and I don't come back this time."

"Sweetie." (she starts shaking her head with a look of worry on her face) "Running away, it's never the answer."

"I'm not _running __away_. I'm just finally following instinct. If something hurts you, you don't crawl into bed with it, you don't make it possible for the same thing to happen again. You get away from it so it can't hurt you again. That's an instinct that I've been ignoring a lot for these past few years...It's time I finally listened to it." (with a cynical laugh that almost sounds like a hiccup, she gets up off her stool and continues on) "It's for the best anyway. If I had given him the chance, he would've seen it again eventually...and it would've sent him running off in the other direction."

"Seen what?"

"...The 'truth of me" (she says calling upon the words that Avalon once used, as if they are the only phrase in the English language that can accurately describe some horrible, hidden aspect of her personality). "Grant will see it when the time comes and he'll leave." (she says this statement as if its an instinctual response from a male, like a dog's instinct to chase squirrels or a cat's dislike of water) "The difference is that I'll be able to handle it when he decides to. Booth was just blinded to it temporarily, he sees it again now."

"And what is the "truth of you?" (she asks on the brink of crying; amazed to the fact that Brennan hasn't even shed a tear)

"I don't know. I just know that it's something terrible, something…something unlovable." (she says, wiping away one tear that had escaped her right eye and was threatening to fall down her cheek) "I have to go….Grant's waiting back at the apartment. Goodbye Angela."

[she turns to walk away; she's almost at the door and then]

"Sweetie!" (Angela yells from her spot at the bar, she walks over hugs her best friend for what could be the last time). "You deserve someone who you **love** and who** loves you back**. Everyone deserves that much. Everyone." (she says it as if there is some hidden meaning to that statement, something more than what can be gleaned off of its surface)

"…I know" (she says confused, yet still somehow getting the point). "Thanks Angela."

[Angela releases her. Brennan turns and walks out the door, that same look of confused pondering on her face.]

* * *

Hey, just letting you...this doesn't mean the story's over. Wanna guess what happens next?


	21. The Answer in the Luggage

So, for a little background on this, Booth comes back with Hannah. Of course, Brennan is heartbroken and doesn't seem to want to hang out with Booth, because of the pain. However, Brennan soon meets this good looking, successful economics professor, Grant Wylde (portrayed by Bailey Chase), who is originally from Austin, TX, but moved to Washington, DC to advance his career. Eventually, they become serious and Booth, still not completely over Brennan (although he won't admit that to himself), displays classic signs of jealousy (sort of like Sully 2.0). Then, Grant asks Brennan to move back to Texas with him and Brennan, thinking she has lost Booth forever, agrees to go. Oh and for those who are curious, Brennan has secured a job in Austin, heading up the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! The characters and story lines of Bones belong to FOX, Kathy Reichs, and Hart Hanson, not me. Except for Grant, Grant is mine. So, (drum roll please) on with the scene

* * *

[He sat there, in the airport, his heart shattering into a million pieces like a porcelain vase that had just been dropped from fifty feet. He sat there, contemplating what was written in the paper, what it meant, and what it would mean. _Bones…Bones loved me_. That thought repeated itself over and over and over again in his head until a new one breached through the portals of his mind…_How… how did I not see it._ Maybe, maybe he was never any good at reading people. If he was…then why couldn't he read her? He could never read her. Caroline was right…he didn't know her as well as he thought he did. There was actually **so much** he didn't know about her. Like the fact that not only could she sing, but that…she loved to sing and that she was the girl he heard on the radio eight years ago, two years before he even met her. Like the fact that she, like most people would, missed her mom and missed being **seen** the way that her mom saw her and that she felt no one could see her that way again. He hadn't proved her wrong in that aspect. In fact, he had proved her right; he had proved to her that…she could never be the center of his world, without even meaning to. Which of course tied into the final thing he never knew about her. That she had been in love with him…for years.]

"I blew it." (the words slipped out in a dry mumble)

[He buried his head in his hands, feeling the crinkled paper against his bewhiskered cheek. He had blown it. He had let the love of his life fly away and out of his life forever. He had lost her…but far before this. He lost her years ago, when he laid down that line, that barrier in their relationship. He had lost her…before he even knew that he wanted her. And now, **he **had taken the place that she had wanted him to fill all those years ago. She was going to be _**his**_ wife, the mother of _**his**_ children. She was going to build…a life and a family…with him. That thought in itself, sent a knife hurdling through his heart. If only…if only he had seen it two, three, four years ago, the way that she felt….Who was he kidding? He probably would've said "_Bones, you know we can't cross that line." _Insisted that they kept that damn line intact, undiminished, unbroken. She probably hated him for all those years that he had said that…she probably should. This train of self-flagellating thought was disrupted when he heard a timid voice say from over him]

"Uh…excuse me, sir?" (Booth looks up, it's the airline rep that he had just talked to, the one that delivered the news that crushed his soul.)

(When Booth looks at him with questioning eyes, he says)

"I…I couldn't help but feel a little guilty after you came by the counter earlier….Um." (he sighs) "I could probably lose my job because of this, but…" (He takes out a folded piece of paper from his pant pocket.) "I printed out the flight log from the flight that you asked about. It left about an hour ago, but…" (he says unfolding the paper and handing it off to Booth.)

"You're…Dr. Brennan…she wasn't on the flight." (he said before walking away, leaving a dumbfounded, yet relieved, Booth in his wake)

* * *

[About an hour and a half ago, at the entrance to that same airport. Grant is busy unloading luggage and handing it off to a baggage handler. Brennan stands by the front of the shuttle cab, staring off into the distance. She's looking for something…she doesn't even know what, though. She's brought out of her reverie when Grant comes over and disturbs her gaze.]

"Hey, babe." (He says strolling up to her and dropping a feather light kiss on her forehead) "Here's your carry on, we have to get going." (He says handing her the handle of her green rollaway suitcase with black trim)

"What you looking at?" (he asks, noticing that he disrupted her stare)

"Uh…nothing." (she says, shaking her head to dispel the thoughts that were occupying her mind)

"Kay well, come on. We have to get to the gate at least an hour beforehand." (he says, hurrying her along)

[Brennan and Grant walk into the airport and as they make their way to the check-in counter, a passing traveler, who is so detached from reality that the sight of Brennan and her luggage does not deter them in their advance, collides with Brennan's suitcase, wrenching it from her grasp. The suitcase crashes on the cold tile floor, one of the closed pockets reopens, causing a number of items to spill out onto the floor. The traveler that has just caused the accident is knocked out of her trance and kneels down to help Brennan collect her belongings.]

"Oh my god, I am so sorry." (she says guiltily)

"Oh, no…it's okay, really." (Brennan says trying to mask the annoyance she feels, she kneels to the floor to collect her belongings.)

[She starts cramming items back into the suitcase; her anthropology books, one of her novels, a pack of Nutri-Grain bars she had bought as a snack. She repeats this motion of reaching and grabbing repetitively, almost as if she has been hypnotized, that is, until she grabs one item that breaks that spell. She is about to place it in the suitcase when she notices, she has just grabbed the photograph that Russ gave to her, the photo of him, her father, herself…and Booth, all at the diner. She stroked the right part of the image, that which contained her and Booth, his arm around her, with her thumb. She was so enchanted by the picture that she didn't even notice when the woman who had just slammed into her suitcase came up from behind her.]

"Oh, how sweet. Is that your family?" (the woman asks in a touched manner)

(Brennan looks at her for a second before answering, trying to formulate an answer that would explain what Booth is to her. It was then that she realized)

"Yes…yes it is." (Booth…Booth was family. He was her family before her biological family had come back into her life)

[Grant, who hadn't been aware of the mishap with the passing woman, strolled over in an attempt to help.]

"Tempe, are you okay? What happened?" (he says concerned)

"No, I'm okay Grant." (Temperance says rising to her feet. The woman hands Brennan a few fallen items before departing)

"Okay, well, we should head over to check in. We have to get to the terminal." (he said as he turned, assuming that she was following him)

[Brennan hesitates. Suddenly, she understood what Angela had been trying to say at their final conversation. She couldn't let history repeat itself]

"Wait, Grant! I can't…"

[Grant turns around, a confused expression displayed across his features]

"Can't…what?" (he asks)

"I…I can't go with you." (she says tears already starting to form in her eyes)

(Grant dons a face of sadness and confusion)

"Wh…why, Temperance? I mean…I thought we had it all planned."

"I'm…I'm sorry, Grant." (she says hoping that one day he can forgive her) "It's just…you deserve what I can't have."

(At his confused expression) "You deserve…someone who you love; someone who loves you back."

(He seems to get the point she's trying to hammer through) "And…you don't…love me"

(She pauses before answering) "No….I'm sorry."

"Then…then why did you agree to marry me?" (he asks hurt)

"Because…because I was trying to run from something…something I've been trying to run from for…a long time. But…I realize now…that getting on that plane with you, I'd be doing to you the same thing that has been making me run." (he looks confused so Brennan elaborates)

"I can't sentence you to a life of continually giving your heart to someone, who can't or won't give you theirs in return…I know that life, I lived that life for such a long time…It makes you feel _stupid_ and _pathetic_ and _**invisible**_…like nobody can see you, like nobody _**wants**_ to see you." (she says wiping tears from her eyes)

[He looks downward with sympathy and understanding in her eye]

"You see…I gave my heart away a long time ago. I didn't mean to, I didn't plan it…but, I did. And the truth is…I never really got it back. I tricked myself into thinking that I had…or that being with someone…else would help me move on." (she dons a guilty look) "But, if I do that…then I'll just be putting you through the same thing that I went through." (she wipes away more tears) "And I can't do that to you…you deserve _**better**_ than that."

[He silently digests this before he says]

"The guy you gave your heart to…Agent Booth?" (he asks, already knowing the answer)

"I never said…" (she says trying to deny it, but failing)

"You didn't have to…I see the way he looks at you. The way you look at him."

[Brennan is silent for a moment before saying the words that she has been afraid to even think.]

"I love him…I wish that I didn't…but I can't help it. I can't stop. No matter how hard I try…he's always there." (she says, tears still falling from her eyes)

[Grant comes up and embraces her in a hug.]

"You deserve the world Temperance. I just wish that Agent Booth knew what he let slip through his fingers." (he says, his eyes glimmering with tears of his own)

[She hugs him back. Grant was…such a good guy. As he hugged her, part of her wished that she were in love with Grant. But, she knew…that Booth had her heart and she couldn't drag Grant into her struggle to get it back from him. That was something that she had to wrestle with all on her own. Once they parted, she took off the ring that he had given her and handed it back to him. He accepted it with a pained but understanding look of sorrow on his face, while she signaled the handler to help her load her luggage back into the cab.]

"So...what are you going to do now…without a heart I mean?"

(she looked at him for a second and he started to sputter thinking she was offended)

"I mean…uh well." (he stammered)

"No…I know what you meant."

[She knew that he didn't mean any negative connotation, he just had used the same words she had used. What was she going to do without a heart? She had given her own away and for so long…she had gone without receiving one in return.]

"I don't know." (she said, sounding unsure) "The same thing I've been doing? You know, people have called me heartless my entire adult life…I guess now, they can just finally be right about it."

"Goodbye Temperance."

"Goodbye Grant."

[Without another word, he turned around and made his way off and away toward the terminal. She, however, took a moment to collect herself, to calculate her next move and then she, herself, turned around and made her way out of the airport and on with her life.]


	22. The Running in the Chasing

Whew! New chapter. I know it's been a long wait and thank you guys for being so patient so...lets us begin!

So, for a little background on this, Booth comes back with Hannah. Of course, Brennan is heartbroken and doesn't seem to want to hang out with Booth, because of the pain. However, Brennan soon meets this good looking, successful economics professor, Grant Wyle (portrayed by Bailey Chase), who is originally from Austin, TX, but moved to Washington, DC to advance his career. Eventually, they become serious and Booth, still not completely over Brennan (although he won't admit that to himself), displays classic signs of jealousy (sort of like Sully 2.0). Then, Grant asks Brennan to move back to Texas with him and Brennan, thinking she has lost Booth forever, agrees to go. Oh and for those who are curious, Brennan has secured a job in Austin, heading up the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! The characters and story lines of Bones belong to FOX, Kathy Reichs, and Hart Hanson, not me. Except for Grant, Grant is mine. So, (drum roll please) on with the scene

* * *

The landscape of northern Virginia whizzed by as Brennan looked out the window. She had just left her fiancé at the airport, admitted that she was still in love with her partner even after trying desperately to move on, and now…now she was running. It was what she did in times like these, when her emotions got the best of her and she felt as if the walls were closing in around her. She ran…it was that simple. She couldn't go back there. She couldn't face everyone back at the lab and not feel ashamed that she had gone back on her engagement, her commitment to Grant; and she couldn't look Booth in the face and not feel **heartbroken**. If there was one thing that she realized in that airport, it was that she needed to stop jumping from one dysfunctional relationship to the next. She had expected Grant to be something to wean her off of Booth, to allow her to forget him, but when she saw that picture of herself with Booth, it made her realize something. She remembered that in that moment years before, as they were posing for that photograph and Booth was taking his place next to her, all she had wanted was for Booth to be near her, for him to put his hand on the small of her back and look at her in a way reserved for a lover, only to be disappointed when the photo op had passed and he would remove himself from her and turn his attention to someone else. That's when she finally realized; _**she**_ had become Booth, not literally but figuratively. She had become the tease, the ignorer…and Grant; Grant had become her, again figuratively. Grant was vying for her to love him, just as she had vied for Booth to return her affections for four years. And for a long time, he had made it seem as if he felt the same, but when it came down to it, he ended up breaking her heart. She couldn't put Grant through that same pain that she had come to know standing over that hospital bed, almost two years prior, looking over a man who had replaced her. Yes, Booth had replaced her. He had substituted her with his fantasy version of her and then after that with Catherine and then with Hannah. "And….he'll do it again." She thought. As much as she wanted to believe him when he said that he wanted to be with her; that he knew, she just _couldn't_. He had hurt her too badly before, ignored her for too many years for her to risk it if he were to change his mind, like he did when he left for Afghanistan. Maybe…maybe she just needed to face facts; she…she was _replaceable_. There was nothing special about her, nothing unique, nothing worth loving. Those were the thoughts that circulated through her head. They hurt and pierced her skull with agony like heavy lead bullets working their way into her brain. She placed her hand up and pressed it against the cool, hard glass. Her eyes welled up and her fingers curled against the window as if she were grasping for something beyond the barrier: something that she had desperately clung to for too long.

* * *

Booth rifled through his phone, looking through his contacts. He had already called Brennan what must have been twelve times. It went straight to voicemail every time; he concluded that she must have turned her phone off. Now….he was trying a different approach. He dialed a familiar number and waited for the other end to pick up:

"Seeley, where were you! You know you're too late right? Brennan already left!" Cam scolded into her cell

"No Cam, she didn't."

"What are you talking about? I was here, she did."

"NO! No Cam I was just at the airport. She never got on the plane."

"Wait, what…how do you know th—"

"Just—just trust me Cam, okay? I can't explain right now. I need you to help me find her."

"Uh" Cam let out a big sigh "Come to the lab, we'll figure something out."

"Thank you" he mumbled into his phone before shutting it. Wherever she was, he just hoped he could get to her before he really lost her forever.

* * *

"Kay, what we got?" Booth asked as he waltzed into Angela's office, where he saw Cam, Daisy, and Angela had gathered. It was almost as if they were solving a case; well they kind of were: The Case of the Missing Brennan.

"Nothing." Cam said with a flat sense of disappointment

"Absolutely nothing." Chimed in an equally disappointed Angela "We've searched all flights booked out of Dulles and Reagan airports, and zilch."

"No, no…that can't be it." Booth said, starting to become desperate.

"Seeley" Cam began comfortingly "Maybe you just need to except that she's not—"

"No Cam." That sudden outburst sent Cam reeling back a little. "I'm not going to give up on her again. I'm not going to be just another person who let her feel like she didn't matter."

"Wow…that's hot" said Angela, a wicked smile playing on her lips.

"Agent Booth's right. We can't let Dr. Brennan feel abandoned by us." Daisy said hoping to redirect the energies of the three people in front of her. "Okay, we need to focus. We're getting off track. There has to be—"

Suddenly something inside Booth just clicked

"TRACK!" he screamed, shocking the three women. "Did you check the trains?" he frantically asked Angela.

"Um….no." she said flustered, she suddenly grabbed her controller and checked the train logs. "Dammit" she muttered when nothing under Temperance Brennan popped up.

"Wait." Daisy said her face looking as if she had an idea. "What if she doesn't want to be found? What would you guys do if you were trying to avoid being tracked down by somebody?"

"Buy my ticket in cash?" Cam offered

"Buy multiple tickets and then only get on one train." When everyone looked at her, she offered. "Hey, my husband's rich. I can afford it."

"_**I**_would use a pseudonym."

"What the hell's that?" Booth asked confused

"A false name…" Cam said, her face in dawning realization. "Brilliant Daisy!"

"Well, I am Dr. Brennan's student."

"So she used a fake name, but what is it." Booth pondered out loud.

"Joy Keenan?" Cam offered

"No, I tried that already. And it's way too obvious. Brennan's too smart for that." Angela said

"No, Dr. Brennan had this stage name that she used when she was performing." At everyone's pondering looks she said "I saw it on her Wikipedia page."

"Anyway…it was something like Cora…Kara…Carol."

"Clara Bow." Booth said all of a sudden, ending Daisy's string of thought.

"That's it!" she shouted

"How did you know?" Cam began

"I—I can't explain right now. Angela?"

A look of glee crossed Angela's features as one result popped up.

"We got her." She said.

* * *

The train pulled into station and Brennan rose from her seat. She grabbed her bag from the compartment above her and stepped off the car. She walked forward with uneager and second-guessing steps, steps that were leading her into a new life. However, she wasn't sure if she had completely left the old one behind.

* * *

"Brennan booked a train to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I just got off the phone with the Dean of Faculty at UNC and he said that Brennan contacted them about a professorial position just a few hours ago. And they, not willing to pass up the opportunity, offered her a position over the phone." Cam said walking out of her office.

"Okay. That's all I needed." Booth said, staring to stride out of the lab.

"Where are you going off to in such a hurry?"

"Isn't it obvious. I'm going to North Carolina."

"Seeley. I know that your jazzed to get Brennan back, but when you go now...please ask yourself this; are you doing what's best for her?" and with that cryptic message, Cam walked off.

Booth pondered that thought for a second before whipping out his phone and booking a train ticket to Chapel Hill, NC.


	23. The Question in the Classroom

Hey everyone. So...huh, sorry for the enormously long wait, I've been debating the right ending for the story and in the end just decided to go with what I had originally planned. I was hoping to tweak this ending and use it somewhere else, but you know what I can just use it again...if that's not too repetitive. Let me know what u guys think

So, for a little background on this, Booth comes back with Hannah. Of course, Brennan is heartbroken and doesn't seem to want to hang out with Booth, because of the pain. However, Brennan soon meets this good looking, successful economics professor, Grant Wylde (portrayed by Bailey Chase), who is originally from Austin, TX, but moved to Washington, DC to advance his career. Eventually, they become serious and Booth, still not completely over Brennan (although he won't admit that to himself), displays classic signs of jealousy (sorta like Sully 2.0). Then, Grant asks Brennan to move back to Texas with him and Brennan, thinking she has lost Booth forever, agrees to go. Oh and for those who are curious, Brennan has secured a job in Austin, heading up the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! the characters and story lines of Bones belong to FOX, not me. Except for Grant, Grant is mine. So, (drumroll please) on with the scene!

* * *

The train moved slowly...too slow for Booth. As soon as he'd heard Brennan was headed to UNC...he jumped on the next train headed in that direction. He hadn't even bothered to pack, or, or change. He was so eager to get down there. But now...now he was wondering if he should have stayed in DC.

_Ask yourself Seeley, are you doing what best for her?_

Cam's question echoed in his head

_Well...am I?_

He asked himself

_Is it right...for me to just...**thrust **this all on her again?_

He looked at the letter again for what was the fifth time since he got on the train

_Three years...three years of waiting. Is she even really going to want to give me another shot? _he honestly didn't know if she would, but he did know one thing: _I have to give her that choice..._

_

* * *

_

As soon as the train pulled into station, he practically bulldozed the line in front of him and made his way swiftly off the train.

The traffic moved slowly too as he watched from the window of his taxi cab. So he occupied himself with thoughts, thoughts of what she would say. He imagined if she said no...how it would hurt. How he would go back to Washington empty-handed and broken-hearted. But...what if, what if she said yes? It was that thought that was the last thing that went through his head before the taxi pulled up onto the UNC campus. It was beautifully verdant with trees in full bloom and a dazzling fountain at which students gathered like animals to a watering hole. They were taking advantage of the nice weather to either study, talk, or play frisbee.

_Frisbees are for dogs_. Booth thought as he got out of the cab.

He paid the cab driver and before the taxi had even driven off, started to look for Brennan. He looked to see if she was one of the people at the fountain, he looked by the cafe on campus, but no such luck. So, he stopped someone.

"Uh, excuse me...do you know where the administration building is? I...I'm looking for someone."

"Well, maybe I can help you. I'm the Dean of Faculty here."

"Oh, great" Booth said joyously "Well then, maybe you know where Dr. Temperance Brennan would be? I'm trying to find her."

"Oh well, last I saw her, she was headed over to Saunders Hall for a lecture. It's that building over there, lecture hall 0113." The Dean pointed to a large collegiate looking building.

"Thanks man." Booth patted him on the shoulder before leaving him in his dust.

The dean looked in awe after Booth

"But...uh...I didn't catch your name." He said, but Booth was already way out of earshot.

Booth stood outside room 0113 for a minute, he took a deep breath and then...he took the plunge. He walked in...and he saw her...

* * *

"Any questions?" she asks with while turning her back to the audience of students that had assembled to hear her lecture to write something on the board

"Yeah, I have a question" she stops writing whatever it is that had her putting chalk to chalkboard; her face immediately falls; she slowly turns and faces the man who spoke "I was, uh, hoping you could help me with it."

"Hey Buddy, are you a student here?"

"Uh, no. It's ok though, I'm, I'm FBI."

"I don't care if you're if you're J. Edgar Hoover, himself; you're not allowed in here if you're not student or faculty. Come on Tommy!"

"Wait!...Let him stay. I, uh, I want to hear what he has to ask."

[The guards let him go.]

"Go on." she says with a discreet nod

(It takes him a second to finally comply and continue what he was saying) "See, I…I have this friend. Well…had this friend. And she always used to say 'never jump to conclusions without the facts, never assume anything exists without the evidence.' I thought she just meant that about her work."

"Could you be more specific?"

"God, gut…love. She told that she thought that that last one was all brain chemistry." he takes out the letter "So I guess the question I want to ask you is…do you believe in love?"

[In the audience]

"Um, what exactly does this have to do with the lecture?" queries a student, who is confused as to this sudden interruption, to his friend beside him in a curious whisper

"Shhhh." his friend shushes him

(She eyes the letter that he holds in his hands with a shocked gaze of recognition) "I thought I did once, a..a long time ago, but I was wrong, you know it is all just chemicals and neuroscience." (she shakes her head before adding a pained-sounding) "None of it 's actually real."

"I don't think you mean that." (he looks at her with beckoning eyes before continuing) "I think you only say that because some..." (he struggles to find the proper word) "_asshole_ broke your heart, probably without meaning to, but still."

"I never said he was an asshole."

"Well I think he is."

(She cracks a little smile and laughs before deciding to play along) "So…this _friend_, she meant a lot to you?"

"Yeah, she did. She still does."

"Then what happened?"

(He ponders what she's asked) "I tried to prove something to her without evidence. I should have known that that wouldn't have gone over so well with her."

"And what did you try to prove…that love exists?"

"No...that I loved her. Even when the evidence, five years of friendship and partnership, which was really five years of me treating her like a piece of furniture, was proving otherwise. But, now…I think that I might be able to prove it to her this time." (He says it while making his way up onto the stage)

(She starts shaking her head as he draws near) "You didn't have to come after me." (she voices in a low sad voice)

"Yes I did, Bones."

"Why?"

"Because of all the times that I didn't. I had to it prove to you."

"Prove what to me?"

"That I love you" (he says it so nonchalantly, as if its obvious; that tone even goes so far as to shock her). "I want to make **you** the center of everything. I **see** you that way, Bones"

"Seriously, this is not what I came for." (whispers that same student; this time in a more annoyed fashion)

"Shut up! This is so much better than what you came for." (counters his friend in a hoarse whisper)

(Her eyes start to tear up) "What, should I start to swoon now?...Should I go weak at the knees and fall into your arms and then you can have your fairytale ending? Is that what you want me to do?" (she says as tears start to fall from her eyes) "And I should just forget four years of **hating** myself for being that woman who waits and watches...four years that I lived with a broken heart...four years..." (one tear falls)

"No, no I'm not asking you to forget. All I'm asking for is, is another chance." (at her pained, skeptical expression) "I know I ran out of those a long time ago, but if you just give me one more, Bones, I know I can make you happy...and maybe, one day...you could forgive?"

[She looks down to the floor, at her silence he continues, holding up the letter to her]

"Bones...if you can honestly tell me that you don't have these feelings for me anymore, then I'll walk away. I'll never bother you again; you have my word. I'll walk out that door and let you move on with your life. Hell I'll even...set you up with a few guys if you want me to. I just know that the biggest mistake I could make, the biggest regret I could ever have...would be for me to _**let**_ **_you_** be the one that got away, to not fight for you."

"You had four and a half years to do that, four and a half years of chances and I had four and a half years of waiting for you to take them and you didn't. And…how do you think that made me feel? Good about myself?" (he looks down feeling somewhat ashamed that he let so many year pass him by before doing something) "So...I don't **know** if I can ever...completely trust you again."

Booth's internal dialogue: [_For those of you, who are shocked, don't be. What did you expect, some fairytale, happily ever after bullshit? I mean, after everything, me treating her like she didn't exist for four years and me practically telling her that there was no chance of anything more than professional between us for a **lot** of those years. And then, that coupled with me flaunting Hannah in front of her face to try and hurt her, make her jealous. Do you really blame her for not trusting me? And for anybody who isn't shocked; quit being such a smart-ass. Cam was right...I should have stayed in DC. I just got my heart broken, again. I can't believe I came here thinking that I could come here and say a few words, hoping that it would erase five years of…_]

"But…"

[Okay scratch that, maybe this story does have a happy ending after all.]

"Maybe...I could try? Maybe one more chance wouldn't hurt."

[There is a moment where they just take each other in. He smiles and a smile also starts to play on her tear-stained face as she closes her eyes and leans into his touch. However, their moment is interrupted when they hear a yell from the crowd.]

"Oh, just kiss her already asshole!"

[They both share a small laugh at that. Then he smiles and puts his hand on her cheek. It felt just like he had dreamed, no, even better.]

"Do you love me?" (she asks in a deep, smoky whisper)

"Yeah" (he matches her tone) "do you want me to prove it to you?"

(A second passes before she nods vehemently, tears rolling down her eyes, and says) "Yes."

They kiss


End file.
